Thursday's NBA draft featured a fair amount of suprises. Russell Westbrook landed as the fourth-overall pick, Chris Douglas-Roberts ventured into the second round, and Jason Thompson was picked by the Sacramento Kings at number 12.
The Golden State Warriors, however, recieved some sensational young prospects in Anthony Randolph (first round) and Richard Hendrix (second round).
Randolph, a 6'10" power forward, was practically the only remaining legit big man that could fit the Warriors run-and-gun style at the 14th pick.
Darrell Arthur could have been a potential pick, but all NBA teams abstained from selecting the skilled forward due to kidney complications until he was selected by the New Orleans Hornets for the Portland Trial Blazers.
Randolph is an exciting pick for the Warriors, due to the fact that he's a Brandan Wright clone. He has the same quickness, incredible length, unorthodox jump hooks—and most significantly, blocks unimaginable shots with that extraordinary length.
He's also an inside-out threat, who can effectively post up on the block or take his defender out on the perimeter. He's a terrific ball-handler for his size, and utilizes length and athleticism to his advantage as a rebounder and shot blocker.
But for the Chris Mullin and Don Nelson, the most important attribute they discovered during the workout in Oakland lay in Randolph's ability to effectively run the floor.
In an interview conducted by Tim Roye, the Warriors' radio broadcaster, Mullin said, "We’re excited about it. He’s long, athletic, and can make plays. We feel he’s got star quality. We feel real fortunate to have him.
"We were sitting there kind of amazed he was still there. But the way we play and his length, he can handle the ball. His shot will improve, his strength will improve."
Randolph will most probably play the small-forward position for the Warriors in the future. Meanwhile, Randolph's rookie season will have to be put aside, due to the fact that Nellie has constant first-year paranoia—unless, of course, Randolph shows Nellie he can be a reliable bench player during his rookie campaign.
First though, Randolph has to improve his body strength in order to bang with those brick wall bodies of the NBA.
In the second round, the 49th pick for the Golden State Warriors also looked bright, with the nifty selection of Hendrix.
Hendrix possesses a strong body, enough to convince the W's that he is truly NBA-ready at power forward, though undersized for his position. He has been compared to Paul Millsap of the Utah Jazz.
Assuming that Al Harrington (one of my favorite players on the Warriors squad) gets traded, Brandan Wright will certainly move up into the power forward position next season, with Hendrix as his back-up.
The 2007 NBA draft witnessed the trade of the noblest Warrior, Jason Richardson, to the Charlotte Bobcats.
However, the 2008 NBA draft was exciting for the Warriors. Let's hope the new prospects live up to their expectations.
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3 months ago
yo Khalid,
The fact that Randolph is almost a clone (as I wrote in my article) of Brandan Wright.... isnt that a bad thing cuz if u have two guys like that on your roster I mean... dont u have to use one of them as trade bait i mean brandan wright is working very hard..... Al Harrington has to be traded man we drafted two power forwards there is no more room for him assuming that Hendrix gets signed and even if he doesnt Harrington is gonna complain about his lack of playing time no no trade him....
from 3 months ago
Yeah, but I never said it was a bad thing at all. Al's gotta go. He, Barnes, and Air France. Air France's gotta go and we could get a pretty solid player in return, something like a Jason Kapono? I don't know, I've repeatedly thought about it.
3 months ago
nice article thanks.
i don't think randolph is a brandan wright clone, other than the obvious fact that he is skinny and underweight. their offensive games are different enough, and by all reports he will be a back-up 3, filling in at 4 as needed. i see the line-up as
Biedrins-Wright-Jackson-Ellis-Davis
with a bench of
Perovic-Hendrix-Randolph/Bellinelli-Azabuike-TBD free agent PG
hopefully the warriors can resolve the PG situation quickly and snag someone good.
from 3 months ago
Thanks for the comment.
I agree 110% and that's what I have been saying since the season's ending: LOOK FOR A BACK-UP POINT GUARD.
from 3 months ago
Where did Harrington go? And no Barnes?
3 months ago
back-up three?? I dont know about that..... a back-up 3 in Nellie's System MUST be able to make threes.... and right now Randolph doesnt have that in this game... he was 2/19 from college three pointer last year, but has a good mid-range shot and runs the floor extremely well.... better than Brandan Wright. He is Nellie's typical 4..... he has to work at it if he wants the 3.
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