Getty The Baylor Bears and Gonzaga Bulldogs play in the 2021 NCAA men's basketball national championship game.
It wasn’t exactly a “Woj bomb”, but ESPN Senior NBA Insider Adrian Wojnarowski dropped a fairly bold prediction on Sunday.
The longtime top source for all NBA news had another discussion on Woj & Lowe with ESPN Senior Writer Zach Lowe Sunday afternoon and addressed the Golden State Warriors’ situation of holding both the No. 7 and No. 14 overall selections in Thursday night’s event.
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“I think, like a lot of the league, Golden State’s gonna wait and see how it goes with Bradley Beal,” Wojnarowski said. “But short of Bradley Beal being available, I expect Golden State to use those picks at seven and 14 this week.”
Dubs Have Faced ‘Cool’ Trade Market on Lottery Picks
GettyGolden State Warriors owner Joe Lacob sits with Rick Welts, the President and Chief Operating Officer for the Golden State Warriors, and Todd Gage during a game in 2018.
With the Warriors seemingly out of the picture when it comes to the services of Damian Lillard and Ben Simmons, Beal is apparently now their primary trade focus. However, indications are that four days ahead of the 2021 NBA draft, it may be tough for the Dubs to even get interest in one or both of their lottery picks.
“(Warriors president) Bob Myers’ front office has felt a similarly cool market for their package of picks Nos. 7 and 14 as Philadelphia has for Simmons,” Bleacher Report contributor Jake Fischer wrote on Sunday morning. “Canvassing sources around the league, it seems few veteran impact players are considered to be available at the moment.”
NBC Sports Bay Area contributor Alex Didion added: “Any trade for a starting-caliber player this offseason at least would require one of those lottery draft picks, and a player like Beal almost certainly would require both and a whole lot more.”
Who the Latest Mock Drafts Have the Warriors Choosing
GettyThe Baylor Bears and Gonzaga Bulldogs play in the 2021 NCAA men’s basketball national championship game.
If Golden State does indeed hold onto both of the first-round draft picks, there should be a wide array of talent to choose from. There has been rampant speculation through countless mock drafts in recent weeks showing different guy’s names at seven and 14, but Sunday may have provided a glimpse into who the team is considering.
Big workout in Golden State today with Chris Duarte, Trey Murphy, Moses Moody, and Davion Mitchell in for a competitive workout. Results of the workout could very well play a role in who they end up selecting at No. 14.
The Athletic‘s Shams Charania reported Sunday that the Dubs and New York Knicks were two teams “eyeing” Duarte, a 6-foot-6 guard from the University of Oregon.
“Mitchell and Moody are seen as prospects who could be picked at No. 7 or No. 14, while Duarte and Murphy more likely are in play at No. 14,” NBC Sports Bay Area writer Dalton Johnson wrote. “Duarte and Murphy are classic 3-and-D wings who can light it up from deep. Murphy shot 43.3 percent from 3 last season, and Duarte wasn’t too far behind, shooting 42.4 percent from beyond the arc. Mitchell is a defensive star who should be able to lead the second unit and fit with stars, and Moody can be an offensive weapon as a slasher who also is a weapon from deep.”
Aside from the quartet of athletes the Dubs saw in person on Sunday, UConn’s James Bouknight, Tennessee’s Keon Johnson, LSU’s Cameron Thomas, and Stanford’s Ziaire Williams have been linked to the Warriors in draft rumors.
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Insider Has Shocking Prediction for Warriors’ NBA Draft Lottery Picks