3 key insights from the Warriors’ first wave of pre-draft workouts

SAN FRANCISCO – The vetting process has begun as the Golden State Warriors hosted six prospects in their first wave of pre-draft workouts.

With Golden State holding the 54th overall pick on top of their coveted 11th overall lottery pick, the Dubs have begun their due diligence on the backend of the draft, with these first six prospects projected to go in the second round, as they look to once again find a quality role player at the back of the draft.

This first group of prospects included Duke power forward Maliq Brown, Louisville guard Ryan Conwell, Tennessee guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie, Florida State guard Rob McCray, Houston guard Emanuel Sharp, and Miami center Ernest Udeh. Of the six prospects, only Conwell, Gillespie, and Sharp were made available to the media following their workout.

Obviously, it’s extremely early in the pre-draft process to come away with any conclusions from who the Warriors host, especially when there aren’t any notable names entering the Dubs’ facilities. But given how Golden State turned some second-rounders like Will Richard, Quinten Post, and Gui Santos into serviceable role players, who they scout does matter to an extent.

It can also provide some insight into the trends of the NBA, the trends the Warriors are following, and what the big decision-makers are thinking in terms of future talent. Thus, here are three insights from the Warriors’ first group of prospects.

The Warriors love experience and resume at the backend of the draft

It’s no surprise that the backend of the draft tends to be filled with four-to-five-year college players; that happens every year. Especially now that NIL incentivizes anyone projected outside the first round to stay at the collegiate level longer, on top of the NBA being one of the few places in the world that can look at a 22-year-old and say, ‘You’re too old.’

However, it’s that same NIL incentivization that has stuffed the second round with experienced prospects who have some impressive winning resumes.

Using Warriors’ Richard as an example, Golden State targeted the Florida guard because of his extensive experience in college, and for his contributions in winning the Gators a national title. Same for their undrafted guard LJ Cryer, who played Richard in that title game. He comes from a winning program and an esteemed coach in Kelvin Sampson. This is what Dubs coach Steve Kerr had to say about older prospects this past season.

“They came from great programs, and they’re both winners,” Kerr said of Richard and Cryer. “It’s one of the reasons why they’re here.”

It’s the intangibles that the Warriors value in the second round. The character qualities. And that’s reflected in these six prospects. Gillespie led Tennessee to the dance and got them to the Elite Eight while averaging 18.4 points a game. Sharp was one of the guys for Sampson’s Cougars, in a shades of Cryer kind of way.

When searching for a guy in the second round, there’s not going to be an overwhelming athletic, high-ceiling player. You’re trying to hit singles. You’re trying to find a guy who can give you 11 minutes in Game 32. And the Warriors seem to like these four-to-five-year prospects who come from winning programs.

The transfer portal crafts swiss army knife guys

The other prospect the Warriors seem to always prioritize are players who can adapt quickly to their system. Of course, the Warriors might be in for a shake-up in terms of offensive philosophy, depending on what Kerr, Mike Dunleavy, and Joe Lacob discussed, but they like high-IQ players who can adapt to their complicated point-five basketball style of play.

So the other trend among the prospects they looked at was the fact that many of the prospects worked their way from mid-majors to the blue-bloods. Conwell started his freshman year at South Florida, transferring to Indiana State, to Xavier, and then finally to Louisville. Gillespie went from Belmont to Maryland before arriving at Tennessee. McCray began at Wake Forest before going to Jacksonville and then Florida State.

The transferring multiple times, which used to be seen as a knock on a prospect, is now the reality of the NCAA. You go where the money is. So in that sense, teams are beginning to view players with those kinds of backgrounds as adaptable. Especially when they climb from schools nobody has heard of to the top of collegiate basketball. For Conwell, he believes his multi-school background has been beneficial.

“Just how my IQ has grown,” Conwell said. “I’ve been at four different places. I’ve been able to learn a lot just from a lot of different coaches. Just growing into myself, understanding my game, being able to grow my game, and also just grow as a man. I think having been a veteran in college will be beneficial as I move forward to the league.”

Are score-first guards what the Warriors want at 54th?

The last insight is how most of these guards the Warriors looked at are ball-dominant scorers. That tends to happen at the collegiate level, where an undersized guard with a lot of offensive tools looks dominant but falls in the draft due to ceiling concerns.

Conwell, Gillespie, Sharp, and McCray all profile that way, which seems a bit odd for the Warriors. They don’t tend to draft ball-dominant point guards; that’s not really the archetype they like dipping into. They took a flyer on Cryer last year, and while he had his moments, he never found the floor as Richard did because he possessed Swiss Army Knife capabilities.

But the Warriors could also use some juice off the bench next year. They’ve lacked that “go get a bucket” sixth man for a while so it doesn’t hurt to see that in the draft. Will they actually find that kind of player, from this group or the next? It’s doubtful, given how every team covets that.

However, what they could really just be looking for is a guy who can knock down open buckets. That’s the easiest way to fit in not just the Warriors system but any NBA system, according to Sharp.

“I would fit the same way I think I could fit any system,” Sharp said.  “Because what team doesn’t need a player that can knock down shots, is a great teammate, and can play defense. I feel like any program would use that, and then the Warriors are known for having great players that can move the ball, can shoot, are multi-dimensional players. I think I’m on that.”

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