The Warriors have pick 7, and should be able to land a top player who can come right in and help them in 2009. The logical choice for the Warriors, and the best value for the pick at 7 is at the point guard position. However, the Monta Ellis recently expressed dis-satisfaction with the prospect of the W's nabbing a point guard with 7. More on that here. Now, this post is about the draft, so I'm not going to fully get into the Ellis/Warriors situation here, but apparently, things are a little rocky with that relationship. Anyway, over the next two posts, we'll break down a few possibilities for the W's to pick at 7:
C, Hasheem Thabeet, Connecticut: Now, the chances of Thabeet falling to
the Warriors are slim to none, but there is a slight chance that the Warriors could move up to take the towering center out of UConn. Thabeet is 7'2" and is constantly being compared to Dikembe Mutombo. He's a dynamic defender with great shot-blocking ability, as he average 4.5 blocks per game last season. While he doesn't have the most polished offensive skill-set, he's more than capable in the post and with short-range jumpers, averaging 13.5 points and nearly 11 boards per night. Obviously Blake Griffin is going number 1, and most likely Thabeet will go number two, but as we saw with the NFL draft in April, sometimes these things don't always go accordingly, so you never know. A Front-line of Biedrins, Thabeet and Randolph would be ridiculous on the defensive end.-Hasheem Thabeet Highlight Video
Ricky Rubio, PG, Italy: The international point guard has a huge upside and is by far the best point guard in the draft. Chances are more likely that he won't fall to the Warriors, like with Thabeet, but again, you never know. He's a pure point guard who can flat-out handle the ball, run an offense, and create for himself and his teammates. He's the total package at the point. The only knock on him though is that he's not the most explosive guy or the biggest leaper. Some scouts compare him to Steve Nash and Jose Calderon, who are both great point guards, but it took both of them some time to fully refine their games. Rubio would be undeniable though if he fell to them at 7 or if the Warriors had a chance to make a reasonable trade to acquire him. He's got that much talent and feel for the game. You can kind of pick up on that just by watching the 60 second long video attached below.
-Ricky Rubio Video
Stephen Curry, PG/SG, Davidson: Curry poses an interesting possibility for two reasons. One is that there is a very good chance that he'll either be there for the Warriors at 7, or they
can make a trade up a pick in order to grab him if the want. Also, he can play the 2, and could theoretically be on the floor with Monta Ellis running the point, although he's probably a guy who's going to want to handle the ball too. He's a pure offensive genius, who can score from anywhere on the floor. He's one of the most refined shooters in the draft and can take it to the hole to boot. The only thing is, he's not prototypical NBA shooting guard size, and he's really not quick enough to keep up with a lot of the point guards in the league, so teams may have an issue finding a permanent spot for him. I think he very well could end up being a sixth man in the mold of Manu Ginobli eventually, which is very good, but not quite what the Warriors are looking for.-Curry Video (warning- annoying background song)
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