Golden State Warriors: 5 options for pick No. 28 in 2019 NBA Draft

1. Dylan Windler

The hardest position to fill on an NBA team is that of a two-way wing. The Golden State Warriors ran out of them when Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson went down in the NBA playoffs. Teams such as the Houston Rockets and Philadelphia 76ers moved significant resources to try and acquire them. The Raptors won the NBA title in large part because they were flush with them.

Many such wings end up as stars, but others are valuable as rotation pieces providing consistent play from the bench. The Warriors, looking at a season or more without Thompson and KD, and with Shaun Livingston and Andre Iguodala quickly approaching retirement, need to add reinforcements on the wing — not simply any reinforcements, but players who won’t be played off the court due to deficiencies on offense or defense.

At the back end of the first round, those types of players are rare, but not entirely nonexistent. Dylan Windler out of Belmont could give the Dubs exactly what they need and may be available when they pick 28th overall.

The first thing that jumps out about Windler is his shot, which he can knock down off the dribble or on catch-and-shoot opportunities. At 6’7”, he can get the shot off over many defenders, and he even uncorked a step-back at times in his senior season. This past year for Belmont, he dropped in 42.9 percent of his 233 3-pointers.

Dylan Windler is hardly just a one-trick pony, however, bringing a number of other positives. He has a tight dribble that allows him to penetrate and survive against tight defenders, and the passing chops to make a play once he does. Defensively, he has the size and motor to be a solid if unspectacular defender, and he is a great rebounder for his size.

The 2019 NBA Draft looks like an absolute mess after the top few picks, with vague tiers forming and many prospects falling dozens of spots apart on different draft boards. A player such as Windler should be a fringe-lottery prospect, but instead could fall to the back of the first round. What it means is that every team, including the Warriors, will have the chance to find a player they can trust at every point in the draft.