06-14-2024, 02:43 PM
Pickings are really slim in the second half of the second round. Although just a reminder, the Warriors picks Davis Jr at 57. He looks like at least a long term NBA player...maybe more. The Warriors bought a pick at 52 at the deadline. The Athletic's Sam Vecenie talked some names:
Bridges is the kind of rangy 6-foot-7 wing with long arms that fits this scheme as a 3-and-D player. He’s turned himself into a solid shooter, having made 37 percent of his career 3s and 41.2 percent of his 3s this season. Defensively, he does a solid job on the ball, but where I really love him is with team defense. He’s excellent at playing one-on-two on the back side with his length, and can occasionally cover some ground around the weak side of the rim. He’d make some sense for them, for sure.
I think what you get at in your second question is the right way to approach this. The Warriors seem like a team that will take whatever comes to them. Also, they’re not afraid to offer guaranteed money in order to try to get players to slide down to their pick. They did that last year to get Jackson-Davis. Connecticut guard Cam Spencer, San Francisco forward Jonathan Mogbo and Houston guard Jamal Shead are players who I can see the team appreciating if they were to fall that far down the order. The Warriors have valued high-skill, high-IQ players in the brief tenure of Mike Dunleavy Jr., and all three of those guys possess those qualities in some respect.
he names that stand out are Dillon Jones, Isaac Jones, Reeves, Johnson and Hall. Those are the guys that I have a top-60 grade on in the class and thus would likely be worth a pick in that range.
Reeves stands out from a shooting perspective. If the Warriors decide to hang on to Gary Payton II this summer, pairing him with a shooter in the backcourt would be valuable. A 6-foot-5 wing from Kentucky, Reeves is skinny and isn’t a particularly good defender, but he averaged 20 per game in the SEC this year and is a legitimate 40 percent 3-point shooter. He drilled 44.7 percent from 3 on six attempts per game this year, and counters that shooting with a nice driving and floater game that complements it well. I also think he moves well without the ball, something that would appeal to Steve Kerr.
Johnson is the kind of player the Warriors have loved in recent years: He excels without the ball in his hands. A transfer to Arizona from San Diego State this year, Johnson’s numbers don’t jump off the page, but he’s a good defender across the positional spectrum and a strong wing rebounder. He’s on the short list of “best overall athletes” in the class, a powerful, explosive wing who is still working on his skill development. I’d venture the Warriors would want someone who can move the ball better and who is a more consistent shooter, but if they trust their developmental staff to help him continue to iron out his jumper (he’s a low-volume 39 percent 3-point shooter who hadn’t shown much in that respect prior to this season), you can make a case for him at No. 52.
Isaac Jones has one of the best stories in the draft. He’s a late-bloomer who was 6-foot-4 when he graduated high school and started working on a loading dock before experiencing a growth spurt up to 6-foot-8 and returning to basketball at the junior college level before eventually transferring to Washington State. He has superb length with a 7-foot-3 wingspan and has enough size to play the center position. If the Warriors want to bet on a positive developmental trajectory and think Jones has more latent upside than the typical 23-year-old, he’d be the bet. He moves well on defense and has a reasonable handle for a big. However, he’s still not really a shooter and his defensive instincts are still developing.
Dillon Jones is one of the statistical darlings of the class, a productive player who averaged nearly 20 points, nine rebounds and five assists per game in the Big Sky for Weber State. He’s undersized as a wing at 6-foot-5, but makes up for it with his 6-foot-11 wingspan. Defensively, I have some questions about his lateral ability at 235 pounds and he doesn’t have the vertical athleticism you’d hope for in a prospect who also has shooting questions. But if you want to bet on production, he’s your guy.
My favorite pickup of this group would be Hall if he gets there. Another undersized big, Hall has enough size to manage at the five with a 9-foot standing reach. I wonder if he could combine with Jackson-Davis off the bench for some fun two-big lineups. Hall can shoot the ball from distance, is really sharp on defense and can pass. He’s just not mobile athletically. I have a top-45 grade on him and think his basketball IQ would also really fit with Kerr.
Bridges is the kind of rangy 6-foot-7 wing with long arms that fits this scheme as a 3-and-D player. He’s turned himself into a solid shooter, having made 37 percent of his career 3s and 41.2 percent of his 3s this season. Defensively, he does a solid job on the ball, but where I really love him is with team defense. He’s excellent at playing one-on-two on the back side with his length, and can occasionally cover some ground around the weak side of the rim. He’d make some sense for them, for sure.
I think what you get at in your second question is the right way to approach this. The Warriors seem like a team that will take whatever comes to them. Also, they’re not afraid to offer guaranteed money in order to try to get players to slide down to their pick. They did that last year to get Jackson-Davis. Connecticut guard Cam Spencer, San Francisco forward Jonathan Mogbo and Houston guard Jamal Shead are players who I can see the team appreciating if they were to fall that far down the order. The Warriors have valued high-skill, high-IQ players in the brief tenure of Mike Dunleavy Jr., and all three of those guys possess those qualities in some respect.
he names that stand out are Dillon Jones, Isaac Jones, Reeves, Johnson and Hall. Those are the guys that I have a top-60 grade on in the class and thus would likely be worth a pick in that range.
Reeves stands out from a shooting perspective. If the Warriors decide to hang on to Gary Payton II this summer, pairing him with a shooter in the backcourt would be valuable. A 6-foot-5 wing from Kentucky, Reeves is skinny and isn’t a particularly good defender, but he averaged 20 per game in the SEC this year and is a legitimate 40 percent 3-point shooter. He drilled 44.7 percent from 3 on six attempts per game this year, and counters that shooting with a nice driving and floater game that complements it well. I also think he moves well without the ball, something that would appeal to Steve Kerr.
Johnson is the kind of player the Warriors have loved in recent years: He excels without the ball in his hands. A transfer to Arizona from San Diego State this year, Johnson’s numbers don’t jump off the page, but he’s a good defender across the positional spectrum and a strong wing rebounder. He’s on the short list of “best overall athletes” in the class, a powerful, explosive wing who is still working on his skill development. I’d venture the Warriors would want someone who can move the ball better and who is a more consistent shooter, but if they trust their developmental staff to help him continue to iron out his jumper (he’s a low-volume 39 percent 3-point shooter who hadn’t shown much in that respect prior to this season), you can make a case for him at No. 52.
Isaac Jones has one of the best stories in the draft. He’s a late-bloomer who was 6-foot-4 when he graduated high school and started working on a loading dock before experiencing a growth spurt up to 6-foot-8 and returning to basketball at the junior college level before eventually transferring to Washington State. He has superb length with a 7-foot-3 wingspan and has enough size to play the center position. If the Warriors want to bet on a positive developmental trajectory and think Jones has more latent upside than the typical 23-year-old, he’d be the bet. He moves well on defense and has a reasonable handle for a big. However, he’s still not really a shooter and his defensive instincts are still developing.
Dillon Jones is one of the statistical darlings of the class, a productive player who averaged nearly 20 points, nine rebounds and five assists per game in the Big Sky for Weber State. He’s undersized as a wing at 6-foot-5, but makes up for it with his 6-foot-11 wingspan. Defensively, I have some questions about his lateral ability at 235 pounds and he doesn’t have the vertical athleticism you’d hope for in a prospect who also has shooting questions. But if you want to bet on production, he’s your guy.
My favorite pickup of this group would be Hall if he gets there. Another undersized big, Hall has enough size to manage at the five with a 9-foot standing reach. I wonder if he could combine with Jackson-Davis off the bench for some fun two-big lineups. Hall can shoot the ball from distance, is really sharp on defense and can pass. He’s just not mobile athletically. I have a top-45 grade on him and think his basketball IQ would also really fit with Kerr.