From his playing days to the last five years in the front office, Mike Dunleavy Jr. has learned countless lessons from Bob Myers.
Making moves in the second round of the NBA draft appears to be one of them.
The Warriors made their second extremely surprising trade Thursday by reportedly adding Patrick Baldwin Jr. to their blockbuster deal with the Washington Wizards involving Jordan Poole and Chris Paul.
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A short time later, the Warriors and Wizards agreed to another deal, this one official, when Washington sent the No. 57 overall pick to Golden State for cash considerations.
With the No. 57 pick, the Warriors selected Indiana product Trayce Jackson-Davis. Essentially, Jackson-Davis is taking Baldwin’s roster spot on a cheaper contract, though the Baldwin move won't become official until July 6.
Jackson-Davis is the kind of player the Warriors need, appears to be a big man who fits Steve Kerr’s system and should be able to slide into a spot early on. Even as a rookie, Jackson-Davis might be a part of the Warriors’ clear win-now track. Before he plays a single NBA game, he already is nearly three years older than Baldwin.
Baldwin turns 21 years old in November, and Jackson-Davis will be 24 in February.
Golden State Warriors
Though he’s undersized as a 6-foot-9 power forward/center, Jackson-Davis is an athletic lob threat but much more than that. He’s listed at 240 pounds, plays with an edge and reminded everybody about his fire within during the draft.
The four-year Indiana product finished fourth in the country in blocks per game (2.88) and sixth in rebounds per game (10.8) while also ranking 16th in points per game (20.9). For his college career, Jackson-Davis put up 17.9 points, 9.1 rebounds and 2.1 blocks on a nightly basis. And he’s also a playmaking, athletic frontcourt presence. That includes dribble handoffs and finding shooters in the open floor.
After averaging 1.9 assists as a junior, his best mark at that point of his career, Jackson-Davis improved his vision to 4.0 assists per game as a senior. The lefty, who has a 7-foot wingspan, became the first D-I player in the last 25 seasons to average at least 20 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocks for a season. This isn’t a young project. Mike Dunleavy Jr. confirmed Jackson-Davis will be on the Warriors’ 15-man roster, and him having a chip on his shoulder could be exactly what he needs going into the NBA.
While Baldwin missed his senior year of high school due to an ankle injury, played 11 games in college and a total of 226 minutes in the NBA last season as a rookie, Jackson-Davis has 126 college games to his name. But moving on from Baldwin this early does come with risks.
He’s a legit 6-foot-10, made 38 percent of his 3-pointers in limited time and looks to be a true deep threat in the immediate future. The Warriors loved his basketball smarts and Baldwin seemed to be on track for real rotation minutes next season.
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There might have been a real argument for Jackson-Davis all the way at No. 19. Baldwin had the look of a steal late in the first round last year, and the newest Warrior has a case to be a gem of a pick at the end of the draft a year later.