After months and months of preparation and anticipation, the 2020 NBA Draft has come and gone, and the Warriors are feeling good after selecting James Wiseman in the first round, and Nico Mannion and Justinian Jessup in the second round.
Kevin O'Connor of The Ringer put together draft boards and mock drafts leading up to the draft, and now that it is over, he is ready to start dishing out some grades for the Warriors.
"Let's go with an A-minus," O'Connor said on the "Dubs Talk" podcast. "I feel like I'm a tough grader typically, but I look at what the Warriors did, and I'm like 'Eh, there's nothing they could have done wrong here.' "
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SIGN UP HERE Whenever a team has a pick as high as No. 2 overall, much scrutiny can follow. But the Warriors were able to avoid a lot of criticism, because draft analysts and NBA minds like O'Connor had been predicting that the Warriors would select Wiseman for some time.
"Let's start with Wiseman of course. With him, it's the perfect fit with what they need today, and tomorrow," O'Connor explained.
O'Connor had Wiseman ranked fifth his final draft board, but that does not mean he believes the Warriors settled by picking him second overall,
"I would have [Wiseman] ranked higher on my Warriors specific draft board, then I would have on just my general draft board," O'Connor said. "With Golden State having Steph Curry there, having Draymond there, having Steve Kerr there, having the winning culture, to me this is perfect for him."
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At just 19 years old, and with just three college basketball games to his name, Wiseman is far from a polished product. But the Warriors drafted based on potential, just like most teams do at the top of the draft.
"Wiseman's got the foundation," O'Connor said. "He's 7-feet, 7-foot-6 wingspan, a great NBA body. He just needs to get better at some of the stuff around the edges of his game, like decision making on offense, shooting on offense, even though he has shown flashes. On defense his decision making and making sure he is always reading the play, because sometimes he seems a little bit sluggish, like a lagging internet connection.
"That is where over time, bigs can get better at that, and there is no better place to do it in my opinion than with the Warriors."
In the second round, O'Connor thinks the Warriors picked some players who could be worth taking a chance on.
"You got Mannion, a former top-25 high school recruit, still a chance he can pan out after a frustrating season at Arizona," he said.
"Jessup is not a guy that I watched a lot until the draft. I had a scout tell me, about a week prior to the draft, when I asked him for his second-round sleepers, and he mentioned Jessup. He said he is this year's Duncan Robinson."
Jessup has proven to be an elite shooter in college basketball, even shooting as high as 45.7 percent from deep in his sophomore season and finishing his collegiate career with a 40.8 percentage from long range.
"I remember after that comment I watched Jessup a little bit prior to the draft, I got a little deeper, and it's like, 'Yeah I can see that scout's point.' Because even with him, I watched pre-draft interviews, and even he gets it. It is all about getting better on defense. Because if he does, with the Warriors, that dude has got enough shooting talent to stick in the league."
So, if the Warriors did as well as they could have in the draft, then why did they not get a solid A from O'Connor?
"My No. 1 prospect was Killian Hayes, and he slipped past Golden State, so I'm knocking off a few points there," O'Connor said laughing. "I can't give two many A-pluses!"
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But at the end of the day, O'Connor believes the Warriors got exactly what they were looking for in the draft.
"So each pick, Mannion's upside after a frustrating season, Jessup's shooting, and Wiseman, the fit and the upside there, what more could you have wanted if you're a Golden State Warriors fan?"