2010 NBA Draft: Who Can Help the Golden State Warriors the Most, Part One

In an ideal world, there would be no need to analyze the draft lottery and see who could benefit a team the most. Teams would simply pick the best player on the board and see how they plug in to their system.

In an ideal world, I'm also shagging Miranda Kerr, surfing all day, and driving a Ferrari instead of a Suzuki Alto. In short, not happening.

With that said, let's take a look at this year's draft lottery.

Currently, the Golden State Warriors have the third-best shot at the first overall pick. I have previously written an article as to why, if they win the prize, they should not go with the consensus and draft John Wall—in essence, it's because they already have a back-court made up of two short, ball-dominating guards who are very good at what they do in Steph Curry and Monta Ellis.

Worst case scenario is that Monta refuses to play nice and they send him out of town for a bigger guy who doesn't hog the ball as much. Adding Wall won't fix our problems (lack of defense and inside guys).

So who do we turn to? I decided to analyze some of the guys predicted to come after Wall and how they might fit into Golden State as it stands. Please note that I am not factoring in other factors such as the possibility of Don Nelson getting the sack—each player's ranking is based on how they might fit into Nellie Ball among other things.

Evan Turner

Turner is the only non-big in this list. However in terms of players who can fit into the frenetic Warriors system, it's hard to look past the Ohio State junior. He can play two or three in most NBA systems, and possibly slot into four for Nellie Ball. 

Not only that, but he's a terrific passer and can easily play the "point forward" role that Chris Mullin played on the Run-TMC sides or Stack Jack on the We Believe team. Turner is also an excellent scorer, averaging 21 ppg this college season and capable of knocking down the midrange shot, a rare skill in modern basketball.

Unlike some of the other guys in this draft, it's hard to see how the Buckeyes' crashing out of March Madness is going to kill his chances.

Along with his offensive skill, Turner is an excellent man-to-man defender. In a system where help D is nonexistent, having at least one guy who can lock down an opposition's major offensive threat even on occasion is practically necessary.

The one knock on him is that he's not a great three-point shooter, but then again we have Steph Curry and Anthony Morrow on the bench who can both knock down threes blindfolded.

Verdict:  If he's still on the board, grab him. Make him the starting small forward for the team—if we can't get rid of Maggette's contract, stick Mags on the bench. A lineup of Curry/Ellis/Turner/Randolph/Biedrins with Maggette as a sixth man is a lineup than can score well over 100 ppg every game and possibly even defend well enough to keep other teams under three figures enough to make the post season.

DeMarcus Cousins

Cousins is the ideal big man for most NBA teams. When I say most, I mean that he may not be a perfect fit for the Warriors—he doesn't seem to have the athleticism or mobility a big needs to play Nellie Ball. However, he does have the ability to stretch the floor, and he's the best offensive post player in this draft class by some margin. 

On defense, Cousins also provides what we lack the most: a big man who's a reliable low-post stopper. Combined with his average of 10 rebounds and 2 blocks per game, you have a guy who can become a defensive monster in the NBA even while playing with Don Nelson.

However, it's not Cousins' talent that scares me. It's articles like this . His profile on The Draft Express lists focus, maturity, activity level, body language, and a tendency to make bad shots as some of his flaws as a player. When you consider Don Nelson's reputation of being hostile to rookies and not giving them much playing time, it's easy to see the trainwreck potential.

Verdict:  If we had a coach who was better at nurturing and developing rookies, then it might be worth taking a shot on Cousins's potential. However, the thought of him butting heads with Don Nelson for a whole year, not getting playing time and acting like a spoilt brat for it makes me consider him far too much of a risk, even assuming Nelson retires at the end of next season.

Derrick Favors

Like Cousins, Favors is also a risky prospect. With Favors, it isn't so much personal instability—from all I read about him, he's a good teammate and an excellent character guy—as the fact that he's an extremely raw player. His post game is still in its embryonic stage, and his jump shot is nonexistent.

While he will get plenty of rebounds and blocks in the NBA on his athleticism alone, his defensive fundamentals are somewhat lacking. And while he's good at scoring with contact, his free-throw average is in the low 60s.

However, his speed and athleticism mean that he's probably one of the better big men for Nellie Ball out there. At worst, he could be the Andris Biedrins of a couple of seasons ago—at best, he could become a 20/10/5 guy and form a short-but-lethal front court with Anthony Randolph.

Nellie's traditional unwillingness to play rookies could actually benefit Favors if the Dubs are willing to treat him as a project and spend time developing him. They didn't do it with Biedrins and now we're beginning to see the faults in that approach—if they get him some low-post coaching and work on his free throw shooting, he can become a star forward. 

Verdict:  Personally, I'd take him and spend a few seasons developing him. If we can get a fully fit Randolph and a rejuvenated Biedrins next year, draft Favors and keep him on the bench for a while. Increase his minutes gradually as he develops.

This being the Warriors, however, such a common-sense approach is unlikely to happen.

Cole Aldrich

Kansas crashing out of March Madness may yet come back to hurt Cole Aldrich's draft prospects. Originally bandied around as a high lottery pick, newer projections have him falling lower in the lottery.

However, out of all the true big men in this draft, Aldrich is probably the surest bet. He's one of the most solid post defenders in college ball and a terrific shot blocker (3.5 blocks per game). His rebounding is also solid and could easily translate into a consistent double-double guy.

On offense, he's good at setting screens and could form a formidable pick-and-roll duo with Stephen Curry in time. However, he doesn't have a good jumper, only an average post player and lacks the mobility for Nellie Ball. The bulk of Aldrich's points come off garbage buckets and spoon-feeding by point guards, although it's not hard to imagine Stephen Curry can get him some easy points.

The other danger with Aldrich is that, while he's already fairly NBA-ready, he doesn't have the upside of a Favors, Cousins or even a Greg Monroe. Already he's seen a dip in stats from his sophomore to junior seasons. Everyone remembers the pick of Joe Smith over Kevin Garnett by the Dubs in 1995—picking Aldrich over one of the rawer bigs could lead to a repeat of this nightmare.

Verdict:  If we fall out of the race for the Favors and Turner, it's worth taking a look at Aldrich. However, he shouldn't be our first choice.

That's all for now. Next article I'll take a look at Greg Monroe, Wesley Johnson, Donetas Motiejunas, and anyone else you want me to take a look at. Yes, I take requests.