Getty Kris Murray of the Iowa Hawkeyes.
In what will likely be a pivotal offseason for the Golden State Warriors, the first major event will be the 2023 NBA Draft. Golden State holds the 19th overall pick, which could allow them to add a young promising prospect to boost their rotation a bit.
Bleacher Report’s latest NBA mock draft, which was written by Zach Buckley, sees the Warriors select University of Iowa star Kris Murray. Murray may be a familiar faces to Dubs fans, as the team just played a 7-game series against his identical twin, Keegan Murray of the Sacramento Kings.
Buckley pitched the idea of selecting Kris with this year’s pick, explaining that he’ll be able to offer the Warriors a “rotation-ready” skillset.
“Murray isn’t the same caliber of prospect his twin brother Keegan was last year (No. 4 pick), but there is a similar rotation-ready blend of shot-making, transition scoring and defensive versatility,” Buckley wrote. “Golden State needs to expand its rotation with cheap contributors, and Murray could handle not insignificant minutes out of the gate.”
Murray had an impressive 2022-23 campaign at Iowa. He averaged 20.2 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per game, while knocking down 47.6% of his attempts from the field and 33.5% of those beyond the arc.
On top of that, the 22-year-old was named to the 2022-23 All-Big Ten first-team this season.
Gregory Jackson Named Potential Warriors Draft Pick
If Golden State doesn’t select Murray at No. 19, there’s a chance that they turn to Gregory Jackson out of South Carolina.
Jackson was projected to wind up with the Warriors in CBS Sports’ 2023 NBA Mock Draft, written by Kyle Boone.
“I’m not ranking Jackson this high on the Big Board — he’s closer to 30 than 20 for me — but I won’t be surprised if he goes higher than expected and jumps into this range by the draft,” Boone wrote. “The former No. 1 overall recruit in his class reclassified and is one of the youngest players in the class. NBA teams love youth with room to grow, and Jackson presents an intriguing developmental case.”
Jackson doesn’t exactly project to be a player that’s going to help Golden State right away. His 38.3% shooting clip from the field and 32.4% mark from deep would have to improve in order for him to make an impact with the Dubs next season.
Jonathan Kuminga Could Request Trade From Warriors
Either of the aforementioned forwards could become even more interesting to the Warriors, should Jonathan Kuminga request a trade. According to The Athletic’s Shams Charania and Anthony Slater, the 20-year-old is considering doing so, should he not be given a larger role next season.
“The Warriors and Kuminga’s representatives are expected to discuss his future this offseason, league sources say,” Slater and Charania wrote. “Golden State will need to decide whether Kuminga will receive a full-time role moving forward and, if not, league sources say the No. 7 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft will want to be somewhere he can play more.”
Kuminga appeared in 67 regular-season games for the Warriors this year, playing about 20.8 minutes each time. He averaged 9.9 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game, while shooting 51.9% from the field and 37.0% from beyond the arc.
The postseason was a completely different story for Kuminga, whose role was reduced significantly. He appeared in just four of the six games in the series against the Los Angeles Lakers, logging 26 total minutes.