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Golden State Warriors: Complete 2018 offseason grades

By Simon Cherin-Gordon

(Photo by Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images)
(Photo by Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
(Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /

Drafting Jacob Evans

At NBA Summer League, I was discussing the Warriors’ stellar draft record with a veteran NBA media member. His take was interesting — that that for all the credit the Warriors get for their draft record, they don’t do anything special. Nearly without fail, they take the consensus best player available.

It’s hard to argue with that standpoint, particularly since general manager Bob Myers took over in 2012.

Harrison Barnes was a former No. 1 recruit that was frequently projected to go as high as second overall in Myers’ first draft. In need of a small forward, the Warriors happily grabbed him at No. 7. Their next biggest positional need was center, and they nabbed consensus first round talent Festus Ezeli at No. 30. They heavily considered Draymond Green at that spot, and quickly gobbled up a player that some considered a lottery talent at No. 35.

The trend has continued since. Kevon Looney fell in 2015 due to injury concerns, and the Warriors got him at the end of Round 1. In 2016, Patrick McCaw had been the best 3-and-D wing on the board since Malik Beasley and Caris LeVert went No. 19 and 20. By the 38th pick, Golden State could not watch him fall any longer, buying the selection from the Milwaukee Bucks. They again bought the No. 38 pick — this time from the Chicago Bulls — when consensus top-20 talent Jordan Bell plummeted the following year.

Jacob Evans was no different. Sure, there were mocks that had him going to Golden State at No. 28, but the same was true of Barnes at No. 7, Ezeli at No. 30 and if you want to go back before Myers, Stephen Curry at No. 7 and Klay Thompson at No. 11. It isn’t that gold is falling out of the sky and into the franchise’s lap, but more so that they don’t mess around. Evans may or may not work out, but as a versatile wing who some had going as high as No. 15, the pick fits Myers’ highly effective M.O.

In a league full of teams that over-complicate things, conventional wisdom can actually become a market inefficiency.

Grade: A

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