The Golden State Warriors are continuing their workouts leading up to the NBA draft, and their next one hints at a potential trade that could take place at Barclays Center next week.
Houston Cougars big man Chris Cenac Jr. is set to workout with the Warriors on Monday, but that doesn't make a lot of sense given the 19-year-old is widely projected to go somewhere in the middle-to-late first-round.
Chris Cenac Jr. workout hints at potential Warriors trade on draft night
Golden State will head to the draft with the 11th overall pick, yet curiously that hasn't stopped them from bringing in Cenac who would be a major reach if he's taken in the lottery, let alone as the first selection outside the top 10.
The Warriors are also set to hold a workout with Morez Johnson Jr. who, while perhaps a little more realistic as a lottery pick, is also highly unlikely to be taken as high as 11th. Is this just Golden State doing their due diligence on prospects, or is this a legitimate hint that they could have an additional or different first-round pick come next week's draft?
The Warriors are also working out Houston center Chris Cenac Jr. and Northwestern forward Nick Martinelli.
— Kenzo Fukuda (@kenzofuku) June 14, 2026
Cenac is a projected mid-first rounder and Martinelli is a projected late second rounder. https://t.co/GMaIrZNpKu
The thought of the Warriors trading down or into a second first-round pick has been floated on multiple outlets, such is the talent in this draft and the franchise's need for an infusion of youth, size and athleticism.
The 6'10" Cenac would bring all three of those elements as a 19-year-old big who's viewed as a freakish athlete, having averaged 9.5 points and 7.9 rebounds on 48.5% shooting from the floor and 33.3% from 3-point range during his Freshman season.
Warriors can't take Chris Cenac Jr. with 11th overall pick
As much as Cenac may bring elements the Warriors need, taking a young project player during the latter years of the Stephen Curry era would bring immense frustration, particularly when that player is more likely to go between 18-25.
Golden State simply can't do that. The only way they actually draft him is with a pick later in the first-round, which is exactly why this workout hints at such a move. Could the Warriors get their hands on pick 17 from the Oklahoma City Thunder or pick 18 from the Charlotte Hornets, both of which have been rumored and offer a more realistic range for Cenac (or Johnson) to land?
Why else would the Warriors be holding these workouts, otherwise they'd just be wasting their time. A draft night trade looks like a legitimate chance, and one Warriors fans should be hoping for to try and reignite the franchise's short and long-term future.
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