The Warriors: When a Lottery Pick Just Isn't a Lottery Pick
On Tuesday, the Warriors walked away from the 2006 NBA Draft Lottery slightly disappointed with the number nine pick. If only they had finished that high in the Western Conference this past season.
The NBA Draft Lottery, a transparently made-for-media non-event, is not the actual draft. Instead, it is a drawing of ping-pong balls to determine the order in which the 14 sad-sack teams that didn't make the playoffs will select in the actual draft -- Wednesday, June 28 in Madison Square Garden. Based on a complicated formula of ping-pong balls and futility, the Warriors were expected to get the number nine pick; they had only a 2.2 percent chance of getting the number one pick. For once, they lived up to expectations.
Thanks for nothing.
In a draft that seems, ahem, a bit short on talent, the Warriors have what amounts to a tweener -- a pick not high enough to land them one of the premier players in the country, but high enough to make them feel like they should get something out of yet another season in the wilderness.
Rack o' lottery balls from Golden State Warriors official website.
It's a lottery pick for crying out loud, the Warriors should be able to get something. Unfortunately, this ain't the NFL draft, where teams with the nine pick in a weak draft can trade down for two lower picks in the first round and actually come out ahead in the deal. In the NBA, whose draft consists of just two rounds, it's mostly about the top five picks. Sure, low first round picks can develop over time, and occasionally a player from the second round or even an undrafted player like the Phoenix Suns' Raja Bell makes the league, but the Warriors need to pick an immediate impact player. In this draft, the nine pick might be outside the impact zone.
But then again . . . this could work out well for the Warrs, in spite of themselves. Word on the street is that ole Flattop and the brain trust (including Rod Higgins, who picked Kwame Brown with the number one overall pick in 2001 -- uh-oh) are thinking about Villanova's Randy Foye. Foye is a ferocious 6'4" swingman who went absolutely ballistic in the NCAA tournament. Foye is energy and determination and scrap -- all traits the Warriors could use more of. Tuesday on KNBR's The Razor and Mister T radio show, Tom Tolbert likened Foye to a mini Mitch Richmond. Ah Mitch Richmond, good times.
We hear you, we hear you. Another freakin' swingman? True, the last thing the team needs is another swingman, but check this: Foye and Monta Ellis are the future of the Warriors' backcourt. Draft Foye and trade both Jason Richardson and Mikeal Pietrus (and see if you can throw in Dunleavy and Foyle for nothing -- hell, we'll pay somebody to take them) while their trade value is high.
Despite Mullin's hollow claims that the talent to win is already in place, the Warriors are going to have to shake up the roster if they want to make the playoffs next year. Of course, the biggest need is for a new head coach, but beyond that, the Warriors are desperate for two things: an imposing force in the paint and a high-percentage outside shooter.
It's probably best that they look for a veteran big man to fill their needs in the paint. Duke big man Shelden Williams might be available, and Bradley's seven-footer Patrick O'Bryant has attractive size, but the Warriors need some experience in the front court. Ike Diogu, who the Warriors got with the number nine pick last year, shows great potential, but he is undersized and needs a mentor to show him the ropes (Adonal Foyle need not apply). Attractive prospects include Ben Wallace, Chris Wilcox, and Nazr Mohammed.
The Warriors desperately need a pure shooter to compliment the Baron's slashing drives to the hoop. J.J. Reddick is up for grabs in this draft, but many around the league are questioning whether he has the body and the full range of skills necessary to make it in the Bigs. This worries us greatly because players like Reddick seem to draw the Warriors to their demise like moths to a $50-million guaranteed contract. Adam Morrison is also out there, but he's more of a scorer and less of a pure shooter. The Warriors are probably better off also acquiring this piece of the puzzle through a trade or free agency. Somebody like Peja Stojakovic, perhaps.
Maybe the number nine spot is for the best. The last time the Warriors upwardly mobiled in the draft lottery was in 1995, when they jumped from fifth to first. That year they used their lucky good fortune to pick Joe Smith, and we all know how that turned out. If the number nine pick doesn't work out, the Warriors also have the number 38 pick, so they got that going for them, which is nice.
Drafts are always a crap shoot, but Chronicle writer Janny Hu probably sums it up best: "When it comes to the lottery, it seems the Warriors are the only sure bet."