The Golden State Warriors did not win the NBA draft lottery, but there is a feeling that they control the board as much as anyone, even with nothing certain about the circumstances.
General manager Bob Myers would not say who was at the top of his list after landing the no. 2, because there is so much he does not know.
No face-to-face interviews.
No accurate measurements as medical records.
No March Madness to see how perspectives perform at the highest level, or to see some sleeper at a small school take off a blue blood, CJ McCollum style.
There’s not even a set salary cap for Myers to really judge with how much room he’ll have to work, because it almost feels like given the collective bargaining agreement this open all-season will be renewed and a hard reset could be underway.
That the idea of selecting point guard LaMelo Ball as Memphis center James Wiseman as the likely prediction of the pick to be played feels so far below the list of all variables in play – even at the cost certainty of a high concept pick that makes peanuts compared to established veterans, there is no certainty, anywhere.
With uncertainty, there is opportunity.
What Myers is sure of is the property that is financially dedicated to winning, even for a newly built arena in San Francisco, which had to be full and rock from October to May.
‘I was lucky enough to work for some guys who have been in tax a few times, and I have spent a lot of time there. We have always had a high payment traffic. But our players have performed and produced for us, ”Myers said during a Zoom conference with the media. ‘They have always placed winning places for making money. I do not think that will change. Well, who knows what the economy will look like. I do not do it. Nobody does that. But we want to win. ”
It was just as strange to see Steph Curry represent the Warriors in a draft lottery because it saw his hair in cornrows – a face of the league, a face of the NBA Finals for the last half decade.
Warriors still have every intention of winning titles
Myers knows there is a duty to maximize the rest of Curry’s prime, as he was 32 shut down shortly after the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. And although Curry’s injury to his left hand that caused him five months was pretty freakish, the Warriors cannot operate if Curry is an Iron Man.
The financial commitments the Warriors have made with Curry ($ 85 million over the next two seasons), Klay Thompson ($ 155 million over the next four seasons) and Draymond Green ($ 99 million over the next four seasons) indicate that they have every intention of going to championships because Myers was wistful, his visit to the Orlando bubble was not a longer stay.
He will probably hear from his established players soon enough.
“Those guys, I feel they deserve a right to say what they want, and I also deserve the right to listen and do what we think is good too, and it’s a mutual respect,” Myers said. . “If boys win three champions for you, I think that is – they deserve it.”
When the Warriors bought Andrew Wiggins’ massive contract from the Minnesota Timberwolves in February, likely to deal him with this pick for a star to open their title window with a crutch, the basketball world was, because everyone knew it was more stable and the college scouting calendar would open up to answer many questions about an uncertain harvest of prospects.
It’s not that the pick is not attractive right now, but as one executive for a high-profile lottery team said Thursday night, Yahoo Sports said, ‘It’s a difficult concept to choose [high]. ”
One general manager said that there is no big difference from the third choice to the 13th, and as much as GM talk may be, there is no body work to challenge that definitively.
It’s just as much a mystery to those on the inside as the prognosticators.
“The best thing we’ve done is make a Ring Central call with a few of them clean,” Myers said. ‘It’s too early to tell. I use the example of you not hiring someone in a virtual interview and paying them $ 30, $ 40 million. Ideally, you do not. ”
These conditions do not apply to champion teams at the back end. The closest was in 1986 the draft of Len Bias, but he died tragically before he could ever make a Celtics jersey.
However, what Myers has a firm grip on is how the league has changed since the Warriors dynasty began. The way they previously dominated has been copied and adapted by the rest of the league, illustrated by his trip to Orlando.
“Just to see what happens in the playoffs, it is different from last year’s playoffs. Next year’s playoffs will be different than this year, ‘he said. ‘You see it too, and I want to have the best chance of understanding where the league is going. And our competition.
“The past five years we could have had some sort of front page, but once you sit in it, it’s harder to be objective.”
All indications seem to be that the Warriors are making the choice, especially since the lack of definitive knowledge around these prospects means that someone could be fun and swing for the fences, and want to get as close to the top as possible.
Myers knows the Warriors need to be neighbors to keep up with the Lakers and Clippers, let alone a team like the Nuggets or even the Rockets. It will take a bold move to dispel the controversies, along with good health and so many other factors that are out of Myers’ hands.
And in order not to see Curry’s new ‘do’ as an early midlife crisis, it’s best that Myers be proactive here.
“Normally the No. 2 choice is pretty good, so I imagine we’ll be happy or – I think we’ll be happy with some options,” Myers said. “Whatever route we take, I think we’ll be pretty happy about it.”
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