Warriors rumors: Last No. 11 pick was Klay Thompson. Will they keep it or trade it?

The Golden State Warriors ended up missing the 2026 NBA playoffs after losing to the Phoenix Suns in the play-in tournament. While that seems to be a disaster, especially with the Warriors looking to maximize the remaining quality years of Stephen Curry’s career, the silver lining for the Dubs is that missing the playoffs gave them a lottery pick to use for the 2026 NBA Draft.

The lottery gods did not quite smile on the Warriors, as their pick stayed at 11. Be that as it may, this could exactly be the kind of draft asset the Warriors need to replenish the roster with the young talent it needs not just to supplement their current Curry-led core, but also provide some sort of foundation for the team’s post-Curry future.

There is always a chance, however, that the Warriors decide to trade the pick away to get Curry immediate help. However, the last time the Dubs selected at pick 11, they drafted a future Hall of Famer in Splash Brother Klay Thompson, and this could force them to rethink whether or not to trade the pick away, as mentioned by ClutchPoints NBA insider Brett Siegel.

The Warriors’ recent track record of drafting in the lottery isn’t very promising. They chose James Wiseman with the second overall pick in 2020, and they came away with Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody in 2021. Wiseman did not pan out (to say the least), Kuminga was not a fit in Steve Kerr’s system, while Moody, who is currently out with a torn patellar tendon, appears to have topped out as a good role player.

Drafting a star in the lottery is not a guarantee, especially from a pick towards the latter stages of the lottery. Nonetheless, one would think that the Warriors, after finishing with a 37-45 record this past season, are not close enough to competing for a title, especially amid Jimmy Butler’s injury, that it’s worth trading away the 11th pick of the 2026 NBA Draft for a veteran piece.

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