2010 NBA Draft: Who Can Help The Warriors The Most, Part 2.

In my previous article (which can be found at http://bleacherreport.com/articles/371789-2010-nba-draft-who-can-help-the-warriors-the-most-part-1) I took a look at the potential prospects of some of this year's lottery draft picks and how they can be of benefit to the Warriors as the team and organization stands.

Since I am no closer to that ideal world where Miranda Kerr resides in my bed and my little Suzuki is replaced with a Ferrari Testarossa (God, I'm still waiting if you ever decide to reward me), it's time to analyse another group.

Greg Monroe

If you were to create a Frankenstein monster of the ideal big man in today's NBA and particularly for the Warriors, he'd look something like Greg Monroe. He's big, mobile, a capable if not brilliant rebounder and shot blocker, an excellent passer and can stretch the floor (if not quite to three point range, but at 6'11" with Steph Curry in your starting 5 you'd forgive that).

Obviously there's a catch, and with Monroe it's that he doesn't provide a great interior presence on either end, which is arguably what the Warriors currently lack the most. There's also been some questions about his heart and desire, which can often be what stands between a solid NBA big man and a bust.

There's been talk that he might return to Georgetown for another year. I wouldn't totally disagree with his logic—he gets another year to prove his doubters wrong if he wishes to and considering the glut of bigs in this draft, he could easily leap into a top-five lock if he has a good year.

If he chooses to enter the draft, however, he's likely to still be on the board whenever the Warriors enter the draft. Whether they want to take a chance on him is another matter.

Verdict:  Perfect for the Dubs on paper, but as we all now, on paper doesn't always translate to success. Too many red flags for what he can bring to the team—ignore.

Wesley Johnson

Johnson, the Syracuse junior, would be another player who would slot perfectly into the Nellie Ball Warriors. At 6'7", he has the length to play small forward and has slotted into power forward at times for the Orangemen—he could form a hell of a forward rotation with Corey Maggette and Anthony Randolph.

Johnson has come a long way as a three point shooter (averaging 45 percent this season) and can knock down the mid-range J as well, even if his ability to create his own shot is a tad lacking. He doesn't hog the ball (a very nice quality to have when Monta Ellis is your teammate) and has a good enough first step to get to the hoop regularly (and shoot free throws at a rate of just under 80 percent). On D, his height and length allows him to guard most small forwards, and he's a good rebounder (something that has been lacking from the Warriors this year) even if he isn't able to consistently lock down the LeBrons/Kobes of the NBA. (Once again—better team defense would solve that, but that's not happening as long as Nellie's in charge).

While Johnson is pretty much NBA ready, his age does mean he lacks the upside of others in his draft class which could prove to be a negative. Also, he hasn't shown the ability to truly dominate games on a consistent basis on either end, but once again if he can become Corey Maggette, only with more defense and unselfishness, you'd have to be happy with him as a third or fourth scoring option. 

Verdict: Honestly, if we miss out on Turner I'd take him over one of the pure bigs. Johnson can become a solid tweener forward, and a starting lineup of Curry/Ellis/Johnson/Randolph/Biedrins can possibly get you to the playoffs. Maybe he might not become an All-Star, but I'm not fussed if he can do the small things, provide some D and score 10-20 points and a couple of 3s every night.

Donatas Motiejunas

The big Lithuanian is the wild card in this draft. Historically, as we all know, European bigs can be hit (Dirk Nowitzki) or miss (Darko Milicic). With Motiejunas, the usual red flags are coming up (no interior presence, poor defender etc) but at least from what I read he has a decent attitude.

I haven't seen anything of him outside a few YouTube clips and scouting reports (although I can't claim to have hours of footage of any of the American blokes either) but he seems to have the usual skill set for Euro players—an ability to stretch the floor and shoot 3s (although from what I read, his 3-point percentages are average at best), good mobility and athleticism, can run the pick-and-roll well, solid offensive fundamentals in general. Plus, at around seven feet, he's the tallest guy in this lottery and has a nice offensive post touch.

So should the Dubs grab him and form the first all-Baltic front court in the NBA with him and Biedrins? Uh uh, there's a catch. Motiejunas is a terrible rebounder (he's averaging just 5 rebounds in the Italian league this season), which has proved to be one of the main flaws this season as Biedrins has been either injured or down on confidence all year. He also has the traditional Euro struggles with post defense and could end up being manhandled by guys like Dwight Howard, especially with his wire-thin frame.

Verdict:  Another big man project, however I'm of the opinion that he isn't worth it. If we can't do the right thing by Biedrins (who, if nothing else, is a good rebounder and shot blocker), how can we take a guy as raw as Motiejunas and have any hope of molding him into an NBA-quality big man? In short, avoid.

That's this round. Part three will have Ed Davis, Ekpe Udoh and Al-Farouq Aminu.

A/N: I know I had promised to write about Hassan Whiteside in this article. I left him out because:

1) I haven't seen enough of him to pass a truly informed judgement

2) Whiteside is generally projected as a low lottery pick or even a late first rounder—whatever their flaws, the Dubs generally draft well. I doubt they'd consider him too seriously, especially because he seems to have plenty of character issues.

Happy Easter to all, eat lots of chocolate.