2014 NBA Draft

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warriors-players-in-the-draft-through-the-years

Warriors Players In The Draft Through The Years

Andy Fahey

Warriors TV Host &amp; Commentator Laurence Scott and radio broadcaster Tim Roye will host a live draft night webcast this Thursday, June 26, at 4:30 p.m. The live program will feature a breakdown of the draft, interviews with Warriors personnel, chances to win autographed memorabilia and more.

Fans can become eligible to win a contest now by tweeting a #GSWDraft question to Tim Roye (@warriorsvox). Those whose questions are answered during Thursday’s live webcast will win an autographed photo.*

Get full coverage of the draft, including prospect interviews, mock drafts and more at Warriors Draft Central.

* Must use the hashtag #GSWDraft in your tweet. This promotion will end once the webcast begins.

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Warriors Hosting Live Draft Webcast this Thursday

Too small. Not strong enough. An average athlete who will struggle to match up with opposing guards.

These were just a few of the knocks against Stephen Curry in the lead-up to the 2009 NBA Draft, a day that forever altered the course of the Warriors franchise. A darling of the NCAA tournament, everyone knew Curry could shoot the lights out, but many doubts persisted about his ability to make the same kind of impact at the NBA level. Almost exactly five years later, this much is for sure: not all scouting reports are created equal.

Whatever it took for Curry to slip to the seventh pick in that 2009 Draft, you can bet the Warriors aren’t complaining. They say hindsight is 20/20, and after watching Curry ascend to greater heights yet again this past season, culminating in his first-ever All-Star and All-NBA selections, there’s no doubt there’s numerous other current or ex-GM’s kicking themselves for missing out on one of the league’s most electric and promising young stars.

2009 Draft Class Statistical Leaders (Career)

Well, maybe that’s not entirely true. While every team would love to have Curry, that 2009 Draft also boasted the likes of fellow All-Stars Blake Griffin,  James Harden, and DeMar DeRozan, who went first, third, and ninth overall, respectively. Furthermore, several quality starters and role players could be found later in the draft, such as Brandon Jennings, Gerald Henderson, Jrue Holiday, Ty Lawson, Jeff Teague, Darren Collison, Taj Gibson, DeJuan Blair, Patrick Beverley, Danny Green, and Patty Mills. Obviously certain players are expected to be better than others, hence the reason why they’re selected higher. But being successful in the draft isn’t about getting the top picks; it’s about making the best pick in a given scenario. Just ask the Spurs, who just won yet another Championship aided tremendously by that strategy.

That’s the situation currently facing the vast majority of NBA teams, with the draft merely four days away. The Warriors don’t happen to be one of them, or at least not to the same degree, given the fact that they do not possess a draft pick at this time. But in order to illuminate the cruciality of maximizing value in the draft, we thought we’d take a look back at the drafts of certain current Warriors to see what the drastic difference between a hit and a miss can mean. And where better to start than where everything begins with the Warriors: Curry, of course.

There’s no denying his superstar status anymore. That time came and went long ago. Whereas all conversations regarding Curry a couple years ago surrounded the status of his chronic ankle injuries, the sound of Curry’s three’s splashing through the net now drowns out any semblance of doubt. He’s firmly planted himself in the conversation of best point guard in the league on any given night, and his recent selection to the All-NBA Second Team only confirms that. There is no better shooter on the planet, and he’s rapidly improved as a facilitator and ball-handler, as well as on the defensive end. With each and every season that passes, the more it feels like the Dubs got away with highway robbery when they selected him with the seventh pick.

So where should he have been drafted? Higher than he was, that’s for sure. Obviously team needs certainly come into play, but if we’re simply attempting to rank the players according to who is the “best”, he’s going to be at or near the top. Now, I leave it to you.

The results of the 2009 Draft can be found below.  Now, it’s your turn to play GM. If a re-draft were to take place today, where would Curry be picked? What would the top 10 look like? The lottery? Post your thoughts in the comments below and keep your eyes out for more re-draft hypotheticals in the coming days.

* Involved in draft-night trade following his selection.

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Do-Over: 2009 NBA Draft

Although the Warriors are currently without a pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, don’t expect General Manager Bob Myers and the rest of the Warriors’ basketball operations team to make dinner reservations for Thursday evening. It will be business as usual on draft night with Warriors brass gathered together in the “war room.”

Warriors radio broadcaster Tim Roye caught up with Myers earlier today, and you can watch that interview, as well as other interviews regarding the NBA Draft, below. And for even more on this year’s draft prospects, check out Roye’s mock draft for analysis and predictions from broadcasters and writers from teams making this year’s lottery selections.

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Draft Talk with Bob Myers

Let’s face it, we all like to be arm chair analysts. It’s part of the fun of being a sports fan. It connects us with friends, family, co-workers and schoolmates, or anybody else you can get to pay attention. Whether you’re a proponent of the way things are going with your team or you just can’t stand what has happened over the last few months, years or decades, you have your opinions and you like to share them. And when it comes to the NBA, nothing strikes the nerve of a team’s fan base quite like the draft.

Whether you’re a basketball junkie who is an encyclopedia of prospects in both the college and international ranks or a fan whose draft knowledge is mostly based on performances in a few games in the NCAA Tournament, you probably usually have an ideal player in mind for your team’s draft position.
Unfortunately, the Warriors are currently without a pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, so predicting which prospect the Dubs should target on Thursday is somewhat of a meaningless exercise as things stand now. Instead, we can revisit the NBA Draft of years past and wonder, with the knowledge we have today, where would Klay Thompson be selected if we re-did the 2011 NBA Draft?

As you can remember, the Warriors selected Thompson with the 11th pick in 2011, right after Jimmer Fredette and before Utah took Alec Burks. Going into the draft, predictions on who the Dubs would take were all over the map, but the most popular opinions on the mock draft circuit had the team taking Thompson, Marcus Morris or Bismack Biyombo.

Of course, when you evaluate a draft three years after it happened, you’ll see some hits and misses. Players like Chandler Parsons (Houston) and Isaiah Thomas (Sacramento) would certainly go higher than their actual second round selections. And based on his recent MVP performance in the NBA Finals, you would think Kawhi Leonard would find his way into the first half of the lottery (he was taken 15th). On the other hand, common sense would indicate that Kyrie Irving remain as the number one selection, as he is the only player from the 2011 draft class to become an NBA All-Star so far, let alone MVP of the 2014 NBA All-Star Game.

But with what pick would Klay Thompson be taken?

We’ll let you decide, but here’s some information that might help support your decision. Thompson is tied for second in scoring in his draft class, averaging 16.0 points for his career. He and Irving, who is at the top of the 2011 draft class in terms of career scoring and assists, are the only two players selected in 2011 to rank in the top four in scoring among their fellow draftees in each of their three NBA seasons. Thompson, as all Warriors know, is an elite 3-point shooter. He made nearly 100 more treys this past season (223) than the second most by a player in his draft class (130 3-pointers by Parsons). Not only does Thompson fill up the scoring column, but he does so while winning games. The Warriors were 24-9 in 2013-14 when he had at least 20 points, and he has helped lead the Warriors to the postseason in each of the last two years.

2011 Draft Class Scoring Leaders By Season

In addition to being productive, Thompson has been extremely durable in his NBA career. He has missed only one game in three seasons, and that was to attend a funeral of a family member. He has logged more career minutes and games than anybody in his draft class, and in addition to his offensive prowess he has the size and athleticism to defend multiple positions. Thompson is one of the league’s premiere shooters whose game has improved throughout each of his first three NBA seasons. Furthermore, he is one of four 2011 draftees on the 2014-16 USA Men’s National Team Pool (Irving, Leonard and Kenneth Faried are the others).

So we ask the question again: If we were to re-do the 2011 NBA Draft, where would you select Klay Thompson? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

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Do-Over: 2011 NBA Draft

The NBA Draft by its very nature is a risky endeavor. No matter how much film study, no matter how many times a scout sees a prospect play, there is always at least some uncertainty when selecting players who are teenagers or not too far removed from being one. But sometimes that risk pays off and the following is a reverse chronological look at some of the top draft picks in Warriors history.

Before we get started, let’s lay down a few ground rules. First, only players in the franchise’s West Coast history (since 1962) are eligible. So that rules out Hall of Famers Wilt Chamberlain, Paul Arizin, Tom Gola and others. Also, we’re ruling out anybody who played in the NBA this past season, as the stories of those players are still being told. So we’ll have to wait until Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and others retire before we consider adding them to this list.

Players considered for this list had to have been either drafted by the Warriors or acquired by the Dubs on the night of their draft, and played at least their first NBA game with the Warriors. So Anfernee Hardaway, drafted by the Warriors in 1993, is ineligible, but Chris Webber, who the Warriors acquired in a deal that sent Hardaway to Orlando, makes the cut. Draft position was taken into account, so the players listed below aren’t necessarily meant to be the best players drafted by the Warriors, just some of the top draft picks by the team. And as you’ll see, some of these players went on to enjoy greater successes on teams other than the Warriors.

Lastly, this is completely subjective and based on the opinions of warriors.com staff members. Let us know if you think other players should be added to this list in the comments below …

Gilbert Arenas – 2001 NBA Draft: 2nd Pick of 2nd Round (30th Pick Overall) 
Gilbert Arenas proved to be one of the top steals of the 2001 NBA Draft. Selected two picks after Tony Parker, Arenas started 30 games as a Warriors rookie and won the NBA’s Most Improved Player Award in 2003 with averages of 18.3 points and 6.3 assists. After two seasons with the Warriors, Arenas signed a free agent contract with the Wizards that Golden State could not match at the time due to NBA rules (The Gilbert Arenas Provision has since been adopted into the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement to help over-the-cap teams re-sign restricted free agents who were not selected in the first round). Arenas was selected as an All-Star for three straight seasons beginning in 2005, but he suffered a knee injury in April of 2007 and only played more than 35 games in one of his last five NBA seasons.

Chris Webber – 1993 NBA Draft: 1st Pick of 1st Round
Although not technically a Warriors draft pick, Chris Webber makes his way to this space because he was acquired by the Warriors on his draft night. The first selection in 1993, Webber earned Rookie of the Year honors and helped lead the Warriors to the NBA Playoffs. A superb passer and ball handler for a big man, Webber went on to be a five-time All-Star, averaging more than 20 points in nine-straight seasons with Washington and Sacramento. Although hampered by injuries late in his career, Webber still averaged 20.7 points, 9.8 rebounds and 4.2 assists over 15 NBA seasons.

Latrell Sprewell – 1992 NBA Draft: 24th Pick of 1st Round
Although his Warriors tenure ended in nightmare fashion, Latrell Sprewell turned in some quality seasons for the Warriors. Three of Sprewell’s four All-Star selections came while he was with the Warriors, and he and Shaquille O’Neal are the only players from the 1992 draft class to be selected to an All-NBA team. After his Warriors career ended with a near season-long suspension, Sprewell returned to the NBA in 1999 and helped lead the Knicks to the NBA Finals. A slashing guard with a smooth 3-point touch, Sprewell averaged 18.3 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4.0 assists over 13 seasons with the Warriors, Knicks and Timberwolves.

Tim Hardaway – 1989 NBA Draft: 14th Pick of 1st Round
A Bay Area fan favorite for most of the 1990s, Tim Hardaway earned first-team All-Rookie honors in 1990 and was an All-Star in three of his six seasons with the Warriors. One of the best guards in franchise history, Hardaway was known for his crossover dribble ("UTEP Two-step"). He was part of the popular Run TMC trio with Chris Mullin and Mitch Richmond, often leading the break in the Warriors’ up-tempo attack. Hardaway averaged 17.7 points and 8.2 assists over 13 NBA seasons, including three more All-NBA selections with Miami in the late 1990s.

Mitch Richmond – 1988 NBA Draft: 5th Pick of 1st Round
The “M” in the Warriors’ popular Run TMC trio, Mitch Richmond certainly had a knack to score the basketball. Richmond’s smooth shooting stroke fit right in to the Warriors up-tempo attack and he averaged more than 22 points in each of his three seasons with the Warriors. Nicknamed ‘Rock’ for his tough play, Richmond was the the 1988-89 NBA Rookie of the Year. He was an NBA All-Star in six straight seasons, all while playing with the Sacramento Kings. Richmond will be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame this summer along with the next player mentioned on this list.

Sarunas Marciulionis – 1987 NBA Draft: 13th Pick of 6th Round (127th Pick Overall) 
One of the first European players to find sustained success in the NBA, Sarunas Marciulionis helped pave the way for the internationalization of the NBA. Originally the Warriors’ sixth-round pick in the 1987 NBA Draft, the Lithuanian-born guard joined the club in 1989 and played four of his first seven NBA seasons with Golden State. At 6-foot-5 and 200 pounds, Marciulionis was a hardnosed player with a physically punishing style of play. He was the runner-up for the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year Award for the 1991-92 season in which he averaged 18.9 points and 3.4 assists while shooting 53.8 percent from the field, and averaged double figures in scoring in five out of his seven NBA seasons. Marciulionis, who also enjoyed great successes in international competition, will be inducted to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame this summer.

Chris Mullin – 1985 NBA Draft: 7th Pick of 1st Round
The one-time face of the Warriors, Chris Mullin was a five-time All-Star, four-time All-NBA selection and two-time Olympic Gold Medalist. The 2011 inductee to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame played 13 of his 16 NBA seasons with the Warriors and averaged 25-plus points for five straight years (1988-89 to 1992-93). One of six Warriors in franchise history to have his number retired, the smooth-shooting lefty was a cornerstone of the club’s popular Run TMC trio in the early 1990s.

Robert Parish – 1976 NBA Draft: 8th Pick of 1st Round
Long before LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh joined forces, there was another “Big Three” in the NBA. And although Robert Parish enjoyed most of his NBA success alongside Larry Bird and Kevin McHale in Boston, the nine-time NBA All-Star and winner of four NBA Championships enjoyed four very solid seasons with the Warriors. “The Chief” averaged 17.1 points, 11.5 rebounds and 2.2 blocks over his final two seasons by the Bay, and he went on to be inducted in Hall of Fame in 2003, seven years after he was named to the NBA’s 50th Anniversary All-Time Team.

Phil Smith – 1974 NBA Draft: 11th Pick of 2nd Round (29th Pick Overall) 
The Warriors got tremendous value out of their second round pick in 1974. As a rookie, San Francisco native Phil Smith contributed to the Warriors’ 1975 Championship season and he went on to average 15.1 points and 3.9 assists over nine NBA seasons. The 6-foot-4 shooting guard was a two-time All-Star and was also an All-NBA and All-Defensive Team selection in 1976.

Jamaal Wilkes – 1974 NBA Draft: 11th Pick of 1st Round 
The consummate team player, Jamaal Wilkes seemed to win wherever he went. He was a part of two championship teams at UCLA and was the 1975 Rookie of the Year during the Warriors’ Championship season. Wilkes was always one to do the “little things” to help teams win, earning Second Team All-Defensive recognition in both 1975-76 and 1976-77. Although the 6-foot-6 forward’s behind-the-head jumpshot was unconventional, it was quite reliable, and he averaged 17.7 points over 12 NBA seasons that featured three All-Star selections and four NBA titles. Wilkes was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2012.

Rick Barry – 1965 NBA Draft: 2nd Pick of 1st Round
In addition to being one of the best players in Warriors history, Rick Barry is one of the best players in basketball history. A 1987 inductee into the Basketball Hall of Fame, Barry was also named one of the NBA’s 50 Greatest Players of all time in 1996. He played eight seasons with the Warriors, averaging 25.6 points, 7.3 rebounds and 5.1 assists. After winning NBA Rookie of the Year honors in 1966, Barry led the Warriors to the NBA Finals in both 1967 and 1975. He earned MVP honors in the 1975 NBA Finals when the Warriors swept the heavily favored Washington Bullets for the franchise’s only championship in West Coast history.

Nate Thurmond – 1963 NBA Draft: 3rd Pick of 1st Round
One of the best big men in NBA history, Nate Thurmond was a seven-time All-Star and five-time All-Defensive Team selection. He ranks fifth all-time with a career average of 15.0 rebounds per game and he twice pulled down more than 20 boards a game for an entire season. He averaged 17.4 points and 16.9 rebounds over 11 seasons with the Warriors, two of which resulted in trips to the NBA Finals (1964 &amp; 1967).  Thurmond was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1985 and named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History in 1996.

Other Top Warriors Draft Picks: Larry Smith (1980: 24th pick), Purvis Short (1978: 5th pick), Gus Williams (1975: 20th pick); Clyde Lee (1966: 3rd pick).

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A Look Back at Some of the Best Draft Picks in Warriors History

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Mocking the 2014 Draft with Tim Roye

While two teams are battling it out in the NBA Finals, the rest of the NBA is in full preparation mode for the NBA Draft. And even though the Dubs are currently without a pick in the June 26th event, there is still plenty of work to be done and plenty of prospects to scout.

If you remember, the Warriors were without a pick going into the 2013 offseason, but the Dubs were as active as any team on draft night. The Warriors made three draft night trades, netting them Nemanja Nedovic, who as the 30th pick (by Phoenix) owns the distinction of being the last draftee announced by then NBA Commissioner David Stern. During that sequence of maneuvers, the Warriors sent their 2014 second round selection to Minnesota, and the Warriors traded away their 2014 first round pick a few weeks later when they acquired Andre Iguodala.

Those moves have the Dubs pick-less in this year’s draft as of right now, but the Warriors do have their first round pick next year. The club is without a second round selection until 2019, when the team will have its own two picks for the first time since 2012.

If you're wondering where all these picks went, a lot of them were part of the cost of acquiring Andre Iguodala. The 2013-14 First-Team All Defense selection came to the Warriors as part of a sign-and-trade deal in which the Wariors sent five future draft picks (first rounders in 2014 and 2017 and second rounders in 2016, 2017 and 2018), among other pieces, to Utah and Denver. In addition, the Warriors sent their 2015 second round pick to Indiana as part of the deal that brought Brandon Rush to the Warriors in 2011. For those scoring at home, Indiana has since sent that pick to Philadelphia.

Again, the Warriors' draft status can change without a second’s notice. The team's front office has proven that they are not afraid to pull the trigger on making a move in an effort to improve the team. And while their would-be picks this year (23rd &amp; 53rd overall selections) are in the hands of other teams, there is no guarantee that they will indeed go pick-less on June 26th.