What are the Warriors’ top needs heading into the NBA Draft?
NBA Draft: Warriors' pending free agents create some areas to target
>BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – JUNE 16: Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry
(30) lifts up the MVP trophy as they Golden State Warriors celebrate
winning the NBA Championship at TD Garden in Boston, Mass., on Thursday,
June 16, 2022. The Golden State Warriors defeated the Boston Celtics
103-90. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
>BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – JUNE 16: Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry
(30) lifts up the MVP trophy as they Golden State Warriors celebrate
winning the NBA Championship at TD Garden in Boston, Mass., on Thursday,
June 16, 2022. The Golden State Warriors defeated the Boston Celtics
103-90. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
By MICHAEL NOWELS | mnowels@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group
PUBLISHED: June 23, 2022 at 11:47 a.m. | UPDATED: June 23, 2022 at 1:41 p.m.
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2022/06/23/what-are-the-warriors-top-needs-heading-into-the-nba-draft/

The Warriors have a chance Thursday night to add another face to their
win-later core after winning plenty now.

The No. 28 pick in the NBA Draft won’t deliver a ready-made star, but
Bob Myers and the Golden State brass can expect to have solid options
late in the first round, whether they’re looking for a risky upside play
who will take time to develop or a solid role player who they hope can
contribute sooner.

By definition, the Warriors are the NBA’s best team after winning the
title. That doesn’t leave many holes, but we tried to find a few areas
that could use some shoring up.

Here are three of the Warriors’ top needs heading into the draft:

- Versatile wing

Golden State had two strong defensive wings in its rotation this season
in Andrew Wiggins and Gary Payton II. But each of those players could
leave the Warriors over the next 13 months.

Payton is a pending unrestricted free agent after providing massive
value to the Warriors during this playoff run. He surely will have
offers beyond the $1.9 million he made in 2021-22. Whether that price is
pushed beyond the Warriors’ comfort zone — a zone that has recently
extended remarkably high — remains to be seen.

Wiggins showed up huge in the Finals on both sides of the ball. He is
eligible for an extension this summer and without one, he will be an
unrestricted free agent in a year’s time. Before the playoff run, there
was plenty of speculation that the Dubs may move on from him given his
max-level contract and comparatively small role (at that point) on the team.

It seems Wiggins is less replaceable now, but will Joe Lacob pony up to
max him out again — and would Wiggins accept anything less now that he’s
tasted a title?

The Dubs do have two young, talented wings waiting… in the wings:
rookies Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody. Both are more of the
swing-forward type capable of playing the four rather than the smaller
type of wing better suited for guarding backcourt players.

- Big depth

This was an area Dub Nation clamored for Bob Myers to address at the
trade deadline.

He didn’t, and Golden State won the title.

But unrestricted free agent Kevon Looney just proved he can be a
dependable defender and strong rebounder for a title team, and James
Wiseman’s health is far from a sure bet.

Nemanja Bjelica, 34, is a free agent like Looney. Relying on him for a
starter-level contribution next year, in the event Looney leaves, seems
at least one bridge too far.

- Ballhandling

This was an issue that plagued the Warriors in the regular season but
didn’t bite them as badly in the playoffs when they increased minutes
for their star players.

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Those stars are aging, though, and two of them — Steph Curry and
Draymond Green — are the Warriors’ top initiators of the offense.

Golden State has searched for some time for someone who can capably run
the offense when Curry is on the bench. Because no team can have it all,
they still haven’t found that person.

As an explosive shooter, Poole presents as the future Curry facsimile if
and when the Finals MVP rides off into the sunset (an eventuality that
is obviously not currently on the horizon). But he is not a primary
player in getting the Golden State offensive machine whirring.

Unless Poole, a 2023 restricted free agent, makes a huge leap in that
area, the next generation will need someone who has a bit more of
Curry’s or Green’s create-for-others vision and feel.

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Michael Nowels | Digital Sports Strategist
Mike covers sports.