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ajd_tbh
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(This is part two of a two-part series of the Warriors completely unprompted naval-gazing that is in no way an attempt to justify being the worst team in the league for two straight seasons. An examination of the team's transactions over the last two seasons can be found here: http://www.sportsinsomnia.com/threads/warriors-transaction-trees.115756/.)
The Warriors currently hold the best odds to land the top pick in the 2020 draft. Regardless of where the team ends up picking, player assessment and development will be key to Golden State's future success. At this point of the franchise's history, it simply can't afford a bust. The next two seasons will require the team to take significant steps forward while Luka Doncic is still on his rookie contract. Failure to do so would amount to squandering the best chance to build a competitive team. With that in mind, it's worth examining the team's history of player development.
In the 2019 draft, the Warriors netted the fourth overall pick — a tough pill to swallow after finishing with the league’s worst record — and the 13th overall pick at the end of the lottery, which was acquired in a trade that was perfectly legal and not remotely controversial in any sense. With the picks, the team netted Jarrett Culver and Sekou Doumbouya.
Both players saw significant playing time over the course of the season. Both logged time in all 82 games, played nearly 27 minutes a piece, and were used as scoring options. The results weren’t particularly impressive in box scores, with Culver contributing 8.7 points per game on poor percentages from the field. Doumbouya was able to chip in more than six rebounds per game but never found his shooting touch anywhere from the field. While the numbers failed to blow anyone away, both players managed to earn births on the All-Rookie Second Team.
“I think there were flashes of potential,” ajd_tbh said of the players. “Culver can do a little bit of everything and showed some real scoring chops at the start of the year. Sekou is still just 18, he started 82 games and held his own.” The GM highlighted the positional versatility of both players, noting they have the size and skill set to play multiple positions. Neither player took a significant jump in their first training camp with Golden State but both have maintained their high potential that suggests there is growth to be found going forward. Another year in the team's system should yield some significant jumps for both players.
Assuming one or both players take the leap, they will provide a level of flexibility that is particularly appealing to put around Luka Doncic, the team’s crown jewel. In just his second season in the league, Doncic showed he has what it takes to be a star. Despite failing to secure an All-Star appearance or an All-League honor, Doncic tallied 22.5ppg, 7.5rpg and 4.2apg to go along with 1.3spg — enough to suggest he has the talent to be a top player in the league for a long time. Luka improved almost every aspect of his game during training camp before the season and the team put him through an additional camp to focus on his three-point shooting, and still has a wealth of potential to tap into.
While Doncic is the team's true star and Culver and Doumbouya are lottery picks that project to at least be contributors in the future, the Warriors spent much of the year building up an infrastructure to develop lesser prospects and finding guys with enough potential to be worth taking a flyer on. In targeting young players with untapped potential, Golden State brought in Hamidou Diallo, Jalen Lecque and Lonnie Walker in trades and signed Ty Jerome after the rookie guard was cut prior to the start of the season.
Walker is by far the highest-profile of Golden State's prospects. Acquired in exchange for cash from the Memphis Grizzlies, Walker is a 20-year-old scoring guard who was selected just outside of the lottery in the 2019 draft. Despite some time with the Los Angeles Lakers, Walker never was given many opportunities. Upon acquiring Walker, Golden State immediately sent the prospect down to their G-League affiliate to develop. Walker shone out in his time with Santa Cruz. Despite being a late arrival, Walker netted five upgrades to his three-point shot and increased his potential by two. Walker also saw more than 20 minutes of action per game with Golden State in 49 appearances. While his shooting percentages weren't stellar, Walker flashed some strong scoring instincts and showed off his versatility on the court. On a per36 basis, Walker contributed 12ppg, 5.2rpg, 2.1apg and 2.4spg.
Hamidou Diallo is perhaps the longest shot of the Warriors pick ups to actually amount to anything. He spent next to no time playing for the Boston Celtics his first year in the league and didn't get much burn with Golden State, either. He played just 25 games and doesn't appear to be much other than a defensive specialist. However, he did see his game improve during his time in the G League. Five trips down to Santa Cruz netted Diallo five total improvements to his three-point shot, bringing it up from a D+ on the scouting report to an almost serviceable C-. He also bumped up his potential by a point, but without a consistent shot from outside the paint, it's hard to imagine Diallo turning into much other than a deep bench player.
The most intriguing of the unheralded prospecting on the Warriors roster just may be Jalen Lecque. Still just 19 years old, the former second-round pick improved his three-point shot by five in the G-Leauge, increasing the attribute from a C to a C+, and bumped up his potential by one. He's yet to show improvement during training camp, so it's likely that there's some chance to develop still there for him. What makes him particularly interesting though is his performance on the court. Lecque didn't get much opportunity until the end of the year, at which point he was playing nearly 21 minutes a night. Despite not being a primary scoring option, the 6'4" guard showed a natural instinct for getting his shots up, shooting 47 percent from the field and 39 percent from beyond the arc. On a per36 basis, Lecque averaged 17.9ppg, 6.0rpg, 3.5apg and 2.4spg.
Finally, there's Ty Jerome, a salvage project tossed to the scrap heap after the draft. Jerome had perhaps the most successful stint in the G League of any Warriors player. He increased his three-point shooting by five, jumping from a C+ on the scouting report to a B-. He also saw his handles increase by two and he netted a potential increase of one. Jerome played in nearly half of Golden State's games, logging 22.4 minutes per game. He shot a respectable 45 percent from the field and an unreal 43 percent from deep. Going by per36, Jerome averaged 13ppg, 4.6rpg, 3.1apg, 2.0spg.
Golden State has yet to find the guard of its future. With Caris LeVert and Fred VanVleet about to hit restricted free agency, one of the team's projects making the jump during the offseason could be the difference between the Warriors turning things around and spending another season scraping the bottom of the barrel. The team doesn't need all four players to hit in order to succeed, but seeing any of the players still on low-end contracts turning into rotation pieces would be a boon for a team that desperately needs some guard play to serve as scorers secondary creators off of Doncic. If the development projects all fail, the team will have to sink a significant portion of its cap into chasing guards in free agency, which can become a dangerous game of overpaying for production.
The Warriors currently hold the best odds to land the top pick in the 2020 draft. Regardless of where the team ends up picking, player assessment and development will be key to Golden State's future success. At this point of the franchise's history, it simply can't afford a bust. The next two seasons will require the team to take significant steps forward while Luka Doncic is still on his rookie contract. Failure to do so would amount to squandering the best chance to build a competitive team. With that in mind, it's worth examining the team's history of player development.
In the 2019 draft, the Warriors netted the fourth overall pick — a tough pill to swallow after finishing with the league’s worst record — and the 13th overall pick at the end of the lottery, which was acquired in a trade that was perfectly legal and not remotely controversial in any sense. With the picks, the team netted Jarrett Culver and Sekou Doumbouya.
Both players saw significant playing time over the course of the season. Both logged time in all 82 games, played nearly 27 minutes a piece, and were used as scoring options. The results weren’t particularly impressive in box scores, with Culver contributing 8.7 points per game on poor percentages from the field. Doumbouya was able to chip in more than six rebounds per game but never found his shooting touch anywhere from the field. While the numbers failed to blow anyone away, both players managed to earn births on the All-Rookie Second Team.
“I think there were flashes of potential,” ajd_tbh said of the players. “Culver can do a little bit of everything and showed some real scoring chops at the start of the year. Sekou is still just 18, he started 82 games and held his own.” The GM highlighted the positional versatility of both players, noting they have the size and skill set to play multiple positions. Neither player took a significant jump in their first training camp with Golden State but both have maintained their high potential that suggests there is growth to be found going forward. Another year in the team's system should yield some significant jumps for both players.
Assuming one or both players take the leap, they will provide a level of flexibility that is particularly appealing to put around Luka Doncic, the team’s crown jewel. In just his second season in the league, Doncic showed he has what it takes to be a star. Despite failing to secure an All-Star appearance or an All-League honor, Doncic tallied 22.5ppg, 7.5rpg and 4.2apg to go along with 1.3spg — enough to suggest he has the talent to be a top player in the league for a long time. Luka improved almost every aspect of his game during training camp before the season and the team put him through an additional camp to focus on his three-point shooting, and still has a wealth of potential to tap into.
While Doncic is the team's true star and Culver and Doumbouya are lottery picks that project to at least be contributors in the future, the Warriors spent much of the year building up an infrastructure to develop lesser prospects and finding guys with enough potential to be worth taking a flyer on. In targeting young players with untapped potential, Golden State brought in Hamidou Diallo, Jalen Lecque and Lonnie Walker in trades and signed Ty Jerome after the rookie guard was cut prior to the start of the season.
Walker is by far the highest-profile of Golden State's prospects. Acquired in exchange for cash from the Memphis Grizzlies, Walker is a 20-year-old scoring guard who was selected just outside of the lottery in the 2019 draft. Despite some time with the Los Angeles Lakers, Walker never was given many opportunities. Upon acquiring Walker, Golden State immediately sent the prospect down to their G-League affiliate to develop. Walker shone out in his time with Santa Cruz. Despite being a late arrival, Walker netted five upgrades to his three-point shot and increased his potential by two. Walker also saw more than 20 minutes of action per game with Golden State in 49 appearances. While his shooting percentages weren't stellar, Walker flashed some strong scoring instincts and showed off his versatility on the court. On a per36 basis, Walker contributed 12ppg, 5.2rpg, 2.1apg and 2.4spg.
Hamidou Diallo is perhaps the longest shot of the Warriors pick ups to actually amount to anything. He spent next to no time playing for the Boston Celtics his first year in the league and didn't get much burn with Golden State, either. He played just 25 games and doesn't appear to be much other than a defensive specialist. However, he did see his game improve during his time in the G League. Five trips down to Santa Cruz netted Diallo five total improvements to his three-point shot, bringing it up from a D+ on the scouting report to an almost serviceable C-. He also bumped up his potential by a point, but without a consistent shot from outside the paint, it's hard to imagine Diallo turning into much other than a deep bench player.
The most intriguing of the unheralded prospecting on the Warriors roster just may be Jalen Lecque. Still just 19 years old, the former second-round pick improved his three-point shot by five in the G-Leauge, increasing the attribute from a C to a C+, and bumped up his potential by one. He's yet to show improvement during training camp, so it's likely that there's some chance to develop still there for him. What makes him particularly interesting though is his performance on the court. Lecque didn't get much opportunity until the end of the year, at which point he was playing nearly 21 minutes a night. Despite not being a primary scoring option, the 6'4" guard showed a natural instinct for getting his shots up, shooting 47 percent from the field and 39 percent from beyond the arc. On a per36 basis, Lecque averaged 17.9ppg, 6.0rpg, 3.5apg and 2.4spg.
Finally, there's Ty Jerome, a salvage project tossed to the scrap heap after the draft. Jerome had perhaps the most successful stint in the G League of any Warriors player. He increased his three-point shooting by five, jumping from a C+ on the scouting report to a B-. He also saw his handles increase by two and he netted a potential increase of one. Jerome played in nearly half of Golden State's games, logging 22.4 minutes per game. He shot a respectable 45 percent from the field and an unreal 43 percent from deep. Going by per36, Jerome averaged 13ppg, 4.6rpg, 3.1apg, 2.0spg.
Golden State has yet to find the guard of its future. With Caris LeVert and Fred VanVleet about to hit restricted free agency, one of the team's projects making the jump during the offseason could be the difference between the Warriors turning things around and spending another season scraping the bottom of the barrel. The team doesn't need all four players to hit in order to succeed, but seeing any of the players still on low-end contracts turning into rotation pieces would be a boon for a team that desperately needs some guard play to serve as scorers secondary creators off of Doncic. If the development projects all fail, the team will have to sink a significant portion of its cap into chasing guards in free agency, which can become a dangerous game of overpaying for production.
