The second-round of the NBA Draft was never going to provide the Golden State Warriors with much in the way of short-term solutions anyway, but the franchise's inability to even try to address one of their biggest problems may go down as a significant blunder.
The Warriors continue to face uncertainty at the center position and remain without a true backup point guard behind Stephen Curry, neither of which have been answered by the additions of Alex Toohey (52) and Will Richard (56) on Thursday night.
A need for more size and shooting also presents as an obvious need for Golden State this offseason, but they bluntly gave up the opportunity to address that in trading a 6'7" elite sharpshooter in Koby Brea to the Phoenix Suns.
The Warriors need to acquire a veteran big man early in free agency
Beyond the obvious need to address the future of young forward Jonathan Kuminga as a restricted free agent, the Warriors desperately need to sort out their center position after playing Draymond Green as a small-ball five over the final months of the season.
Quinten Post had an impressive rookie year where he emerged as the floor spacing big man Golden State very much needed, but heading into next season with the reliance on the youngster as a starting center is very much fraught with danger for a team looking to contend for a championship.
The Warriors continue to be linked to the top free agent centers available, including Brook Lopez as the franchise was listed on Thursday as a top three landing spot for the 37-year-old by Bleacher Report's Zach Buckley.
"While he's (Lopez) not versatile on the defensive end, he's still a disruptive presence around the rim. And his outside attack is aging like wine. Since the start of the 2022-23 season, he has averaged 1.8 three-pointers on 37.1 percent shooting," Buckley wrote.
Assuming Golden State have the taxpayer mid-level exception ($5.7 million) to use in free agency, Lopez could be a strong target at that price if they believe the 17-year veteran still has something left to give as a starter in the league.
Alternatively, the Warriors could also target a big man on the trade market, with a team like the Portland Trail Blazers suddenly having an abundance of centers after drafting Hansen Yang with the 16th overall pick.
Either way, Golden State's next move beyond resolving Kuminga's future is to solidify the center position, and ideally with a veteran option that doesn't leave Post with the weight of the position on his shoulders.