Much has been made of the Golden State Warriors’ drafting in the last five years, having whiffed on a No. 2 overall pick in James Wiseman while making less egregious mistakes the following year with two additional lottery picks in Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody.
Those picks go on the record of former general manager Bob Myers though, and in contrast his successor has done a much better job with lower picks available at his disposal. Mike Dunleavy Jr. has already proven himself as a savvy identifier of talent, but he’ll get the opportunity to reiterate that when the Warriors take the 41st pick to this year’s draft.
Can Dunleavy hit on another pick for the Warriors in a weak draft?
Just a week after taking over from Myers, Dunleavy took Brandin Podziemski with the 19th overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. The combo guard has since gone on to do what few young players have done under Steve Kerr — earn a consistent role and log heavy minutes in an otherwise veteran team.
Podziemski finished fifth in Rookie of the Year voting and earned All-Rookie First Team selection, then shook off early struggles in his second season to take another leap and average over 32 minutes for Golden State in the playoffs.
Dunleavy also smartly traded with the Washington Wizards to get the draft rights to Trayce Jackson-Davis with the 57th pick in 2023. The young big man has gone on to start 58 games for the Warriors in his first two seasons, including the final three of the second-round series against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Golden State’s latest draft pick — Quinten Post — also had significant impact in his rookie season. Despite not being drafted till the 52nd pick last year, Post made 14 starts in the second-half of the season and shot a team-leading 40.8% from 3-point range. The seven-foot center was less impactful in the playoffs, but still appeared in all 12 playoff games.
Dunleavy now faces a greater challenge when it comes to continuing his excellent recent trend, with ESPN draft expert Jonathan Givony recently referencing this year’s pool as “one of the shallowest second rounds we’ve seen in a few years.”
If Dunleavy can still leverage the 41st pick into a young player who cements an NBA future, then it will only further his status among fans as an excellent assessor of draft talent. The first-round of the NBA Draft will begin at Barclays Center on June 25, with the second-round to take place the following day.
