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Steph Curry, Warriors Stars Not Pressuring GM to Trade Pick for Proven Player
August 18, 2020
The Golden State Warriors figure to be in win-now mode next season with a core that includes Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, but president of basketball operations and general manager Bob Myers said that trio is not pressuring him to trade what will likely be a valuable draft pick to land a proven player.
Nick Friedell of ESPN shared Myers' comments that come before Thursday's NBA draft lottery:
"Those guys are great. They want to win, we want to win. I don't feel any pressure from any of them to a certain thing. I know it's been written that we need to win now and they need to get a proven player. They've not said that to me. Maybe they would at some point, I have no idea. But I think they know, and if they obviously want to talk about it, they can call me or I'll call them and get their thoughts. I've already kind of joked with them and asked them what they like [about] certain players."
Such discussions are not exactly familiar in Golden State.
The Warriors are coming off five straight trips to the NBA Finals, three of which ended in championships, but had the league's worst record at 15-50 when the 2019-20 season was suspended because of the COVID-19 pandemic in March.
Friedell noted they have a 14 percent chance of landing the No. 1 pick and are guaranteed a selection in the top five.
Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman projected Golden State to take Dayton's Obi Toppin with the No. 3 pick in his latest mock draft, highlighting how the high-flying college star could fit in the Warriors' spread offense as an "inside-out big man."
The team could also turn toward a big man like James Wiseman to give it more of an interior presence alongside the sharpshooting guards.
That is the question Myers will face as the draft approaches. Should he take a talented rookie who will help in 2020-21 but be more of a factor in the future or package such an intriguing pick with other players to land an impact playmaker who is ready to step in and play 30-plus minutes a night on a championship contender.
The decision will surely impact the franchise for years to come, although he at least doesn't have to worry about his star players pressuring him into choosing one route over the other.