The Warriors are in danger of giving up their only first round pick unless they get worse. Quick.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve rooted for the Warriors to win every game. It would ruin my evening when they lost a game they should have won (see: February 7 loss to OKC).
But for the last two weeks, I’ve found myself rooting for them to lose every game.
No, I don’t hate the Warriors now. Though I’m developing a strong dislike for the new owners.
I still love them, and will always love them. But getting an alert on my phone telling me that they lost gave me a strange sense of joy, one I hope goes away soon.
See, I just want the Warriors to keep their first round draft pick on June 28th. There are a lot of players I like at the top of mock drafts and I want one to come play in Oakland.
If the draft lottery gives the Warriors one of the top seven slots, they keep their pick. If it falls eighth or lower, their pick goes to the Utah Jazz. Every loss helps the Warriors’ chances of moving up in the lottery.
The draft is where the Warriors have to find their next superstar. They aren’t going to hook a big fish in the offseason. Heck, they couldn’t even convince Tyson Chandler to come here.
They aren’t going to trade for a megastar. Dwight Howard wanted no part of Oakland prior to the trade deadline.
This year’s draft is deep. Every team picking in the lottery will get a player that could really make an impact. If the Warriors had a lottery pick no matter what, I wouldn’t be writing this.
The seventh spot in the draft holds many options.
If the Warriors want a big man to groom behind David Lee and Andrew Bogut, they could have a shot at more than a half dozen prospects:
If the Warriors want to address their thin small forward position, there are a couple interesting options:
With Klay Thompson entrenched at shooting guard, the Warriors don’t need to spend too much time looking at shooting guards. But if they think that Stephen Curry’s ankle might be a long-term problem, there are two point guards they should definitely consider:
With 16 games left, the Warriors have the ninth-worst winning percentage (20-30, .400). The next two closest teams are Sacramento and Detroit (18-33, .353). The Warriors face a lot of Western Conference contenders in those 16 games, so it is possible that they could fall back into one of the top seven spots.
Skinflints and tightwads rejoice: The state's high speed rail project will cost $30 billion less than anticipated.
With performance tests determining a school's fate, many educators offer unconventional rewards to their student body.
What's the best way to save money? Spend more of it, say the California courts.
My Latest @SFBay Article: W’s need some more L’s – http://t.co/pPkbgAGh #GSWarriors #Warriors