The Golden State Warriors won’t rest until they drive up the stock of every player projected to go in the lottery portion of the NBA draft.
It wouldn’t be the NBA draft if some team wasn’t going rogue boosting draft stock of every player they could get their hands on. In the case of the 2020 draft, that team is the Golden State Warriors, who hold the No. 2 pick in this draft, and the players involved appear to be all of Anthony Edwards, James Wiseman, Deni Avdija, Obi Toppin and LaMelo Ball, at the very least.
In recent days, the Warriors have suggested that they were “high” on Toppin, “blown away” by Avdija and that Edwards and Wiseman were “monsters” in workouts. In addition, the Warriors have suggested that they think Ball is “super talented”. Needless to say, the Warriors are doing their pre-draft work both from a player evaluation perspective and from a leverage-building angle as well.
The Warriors have a one or two year window to compete for another championship with the triumvirate of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, and it’s not likely that a rookie drafted in 2020 is going to be able to provide much value to that end. While a player like James Wiseman might step in as a suitable big, there might be more value in trading him in part of a package for a more proven big man who may be able to provide more immediate value towards the goal of winning an NBA title.
Teams are doing their own work with these players and not relying on the word of the Golden State Warriors when it comes to how good they are, but there’s nothing wrong with trying to pump up these young draft prospects. If anything, it probably comes off to other NBA teams as a subtle hint that the Warriors are indeed open to trading the No. 2 overall pick.
If the Warriors want another championship run in the next couple of years, that’s probably going to be the move. With or without the posturing, everybody else knows it too.