James Wiseman is so often the player fans will point to when it comes to the Golden State Warriors poor recent drafting history, having fatefully taken the seven-foot big man with the second overall pick in 2020.
There's a host of players the Warriors missed out on from that draft, most notably future All-Star guards LaMelo Ball and Tyrese Haliburton. Some may even look at the 2021 Draft as a pair of mistakes in hindsight, with Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody still on the roster but having passed on the likes of Franz Wagner, Alperun Sengun and Trey Murphy III.
The Warriors draft miss in 2022 is coming back to bite them
Golden State's most recent draft selections have been more fruitful under Mike Dunleavy Jr., with the general manager taking Brandin Podziemski, Trayce Jackson-Davis and Quinten Post since taking over in 2023.
One Warrior miss that goes under the radar is after their championship in 2022, having taken a risk on Patrick Baldwin Jr. with the 28th overall pick at the end of the first-round. Such a selection is always skeptical at best, but Baldwin has amounted to very little as an NBA player so far.
He did show some promise with the Warriors in his rookie season, offering an intriguing blend of size and shooting having shot 38.1% from 3-point range in his limited minutes. It wasn't enough for Golden State to consider a future with the 6'9" forward, involving him in the Jordan Poole-Chris Paul trade that landed him with the Washington Wizards.
Baldwin has since failed to solidify an NBA future, playing in 60 games and less than 600 total minutes over the last two seasons. The 22-year-old has averaged just 4.6 minutes in 22 games this season, with his career now in serious jeapordy given the Wizards have declined his fourth-year player option.
Again, a late first-round pick comes with no guarantees, but the Warriors did pass on multiple players who have turned into legitimate rotation or starting-level players. Peyton Watson was taken two selections later and is now averaging nearly 25 minutes per game for a top four seed in the Denver Nuggets, while Andrew Nembhard was taken at pick 31 and was a starter on an Indiana Pacers team that made the Eastern Conference Finals.
Even in the mid 30's, Max Christie is now a starter for the Los Angeles Lakers, and Jaylin Williams would undoubtedly be helpful for Golden State as a stretch big. While much of the drafting criticism centers around Wiseman and the other lottery picks the Warriors had, taking Baldwin as a late first-rounder shouldn't go under the radar.