SAN FRANCISCO – The Golden State Warriors’ pre-draft process is in full swing. After hosting potential lottery pick Yaxel Lendeborg for a pre-draft workout this past week, the Dubs are planning on bringing in Arizona guard Brayden Burries and Michigan forward Morez Johnson Jr. sometime next week, sources told ClutchPoints’ insider Brett Siegel.
With Golden State owning the 11th overall pick, the Warriors are searching for a prospect who can help Stephen Curry and this aging veteran core compete in the present while also carrying the torch once those stars are gone. And while the potential to trade the pick in a splashy blockbuster trade seems to have faded in recent weeks, “everything is on the table,” according to general manager Mike Dunleavy, when it comes to how they will decide to use the pick.
In 39 games at Arizona, Burries averaged 16.1 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 1.5 steals, while shooting 49.1% from the field and 39.1% from the 3-point line. At just around 6′-4″ and 215 lbs, with a plus-two wingspan, Burries is an all-around guard who has the tools to handle the ball and create his own shot while also being an aggressive impact defender who can take on opponents at the point-of-attack
As for Johnson, the Michigan forward averaged 13.1 points and 7.3 rebounds while shooting 62.3% from the field and 34.3% from beyond the arc across 40 games for the championship-winning Wolverines. Standing at 6′-9″ and 251 lbs, with a 7′-3″ wingspan, Johnson projects to put the power in power forward. His big frame and athletic force are on full display as an impact defender who can move his feet laterally with guards and bigs. And on offense, he’s a deadly rim runner who can cut backdoor, run in transition, or work in the pick-and-roll.
Commitment to the future
There’s an understanding in the Warriors organization that they have to get younger and that they have to rely on the young guys more. After re-upping his contract with the Warriors, Steve Kerr spoke about how the age of the roster last year made it difficult to build continuity, with players in and out of the lineup due to various load management schedules.
“I do think it’s important that we don’t have the vast number of players who couldn’t play back-to-back,” Kerr said. “We can’t do that again. It’s too hard to build continuity. We need some younger legs for sure. We know that.”
And in addition to that understanding of needing to get younger is also a sense of alignment among Kerr, Dunleavy, and owner Joe Lacob, something that hadn’t totally been there the past couple of years. Most famously, the Jonathan Kuminga saga was a convergence of the big decision-makers wanting different things, whether it was wanting to win now versus developing a younger player for the future.
But after Kerr, Dunleavy, and Lacob hashed things out during the weeks in which Kerr was deciding whether to continue coaching, there seems to be an alignment in terms of how they want to proceed over the next couple of years. And a big part of that procedure is a commitment to developing the future.
“You look at our depth on the wings, that [rookie] has to play,” Kerr said of whoever they end up drafting. “He’s got to earn it, but we’re committed to absolutely, you know, the development of our young players and trying to do this thing in a way that allows for success down the road. Down the road, meaning the end of next season and beyond.”
“One of the things I feel really strongly about is: I want to lay a stronger foundation for next season that will carry forward for years to come, beyond when I’m here,” Kerr continued. “I think that’s important to the franchise. I know it’s important to Steph and Draymond [Green] and, frankly, this year I think we got a little away from that.”
So whether the Warriors decide it’s Burries or Johnson after their workouts next week, or it’s Lendeborg after what they saw this past week, they are committed to developing whoever they draft. And that player will play real minutes.
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