The Golden State Warriors must be due a drastic shift in fortune when it comes to their lottery pick this year, having self-induced and endured disastrous results from their fateful 2020-21 period.
Former No. 2 overall pick James Wiseman is now out of the league, and Jonathan Kuminga is now off the team after a tumultuous and up-and-down near five-year tenure with the Warriors. The latest disaster was largely out of the franchise's control, with former 14th overall pick Moses Moody suffering a devastating torn patellar tendon on Monday night against the Dallas Mavericks.
Warriors due for drastic change of fortune with this year's lottery pick
Moody is the remaining piece from Golden State's three lottery picks across 2020 and 2021. While not a star by any means, the fifth-year wing has developed into a quality, starting caliber role player who averaged over 12 points per game this season on 40% shooting from 3-point range.
That's a more than respectable outcome from a pick at the end of the lottery, but Moody now faces a long stint on the sidelines and plenty of question marks on whether he can ever return to the consistent two-way player we saw this season.
Moody was the franchise's last lottery selection, but barring any late surge into the playoffs, the Warriors are set to try their luck again. Their 2022 and 2023 first-round picks, Patrick Baldwin Jr. and Brandin Podziemski, were both outside the lottery, while their 14th overall pick in 2024 was relinquished to the Memphis Grizzlies as part of a 2019 trade. Their 2025 first-round pick, ultimately 20th overall, also went to the Miami Heat as part of the Jimmy Butler trade just over 12 months ago.
As a result of their mistakes at the 2020 and 2021 Draft, Golden State don't have a young star that the franchise could foreseeably build around in the post-Stephen Curry era. Assuming they wind up keeping this year's pick rather than trading it, they'll have the opportunity to make amends in what's widely viewed as a strong draft class.
Warriors could find their next star in this year's draft
Of course, Golden State's chances of landing a franchise difference-maker will be made easier if they can jump up into a top four pick, something that is about a 10% chance based on their current record.
Yet even if they stay at 11, 12 or the early teens, the Warriors could still find a player that can help impact immediately next season, while also helping to build a core for the future and the 10-year landscape of the franchise.
After going through the failed Wiseman and Kuminga situations, and now this catastrophic Moody injury, Warrior fans deserve a change in fortune at the lottery to help offer some light beyond the Curry era.