The following draft prospects are among those who external media members are predicting to be selected by the Warriors in the 2020 NBA Draft, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Golden State Warriors or its basketball operations staff.
The 2020 NBA Draft is almost upon us! We can now count the hours remaining before the Warriors and the other 29 teams of the league go on the clock to choose who will join their respective teams.
According to the members of the media who have been producing mock drafts, the Warriors have been tied to a number of top prospects. So who do they see the Dubs selecting with the second overall pick? The tally for our final mock draft roundup prior to this year’s NBA Draft is as follows:
James Wiseman (center, Memphis) – 17
Anthony Edwards (guard, Georgia) – 2
Onyeka Okongwu (forward, USC) – 2
Deni Avdija (forward, Israel) – 1
Obi Toppin (forward, Dayton) – 1
After consistently logging 11 votes by media members we have been tracking as the Warriors’ choice, 19-year-old center James Wiseman heads into the NBA Draft with 17 of 23 listing him as the Dubs’ choice with the No. 2 pick.
Colin Ward-Henninger of CBS Sports is among those who believe this will be the route taken by the Warriors on Wednesday, recently writing: “He fills an immediate need as a rim protector/lob catcher and creates a bridge to the future with his tremendous upside — exactly what Golden State is looking for.”
Though many other media members are of the same mind as Ward-Henninger that the rim-running seven-foot tall center fills a need of the Dubs, Jason McIntyre of Fox Sports argues that he would not fit the squad’s style of play.
“Maybe the Warriors see Anthony Davis and Nikola Jokic in the West and wonder if it makes sense to grab athletic 7-foot-1 James Wiseman here,” he wrote, “but then you’re playing their game, not yours.”
“And if they don’t trade this pick, the idea of the 6-foot-9 Okongwu as an understudy to the 2017 DPOY Draymond Green makes sense in the short and long term,” concluded McIntyre.
And as McIntyre mentioned as well, there remains the option of trading the second overall pick.
Jeremy Woo of Sports Illustrated reported: “Teams interested in Wiseman have operated under the assumption that that they have to trade up in front of Charlotte (Hornets),” the team with the third overall pick.
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“And it’s known that the Warriors are interested in moving back in the lottery, seeking to draft a young player while also upgrading their frontcourt with a veteran who can help them win now,” Woo continued.
Despite majority opinions leaning towards the Warriors either using their second overall pick or trading it to move down in the lottery and receive additional assets in return, nothing will be concrete until the Warriors go on the clock on Wednesday, or potentially after that.
“Somebody gave me good advice,” recounted Bob Myers during his pre-draft media availability on Nov. 11, “I think somebody that worked with President Obama told me one of his things, never make a decision until you have to.”
“So we’ll make it on Wednesday night when they call our name.”
There you have it Dub Nation: be ready for anything come draft time. For the latest information on the Warriors in the 2020 NBA Draft, keep an eye on @warriors on social media and warriors.com.
