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Warriors Reveal Potential Plans for Pick Ahead of NBA Draft

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Sean Deveney | Last updated Jun 24, 2025 8:00 AM ET

The Warriors were eliminated in the NBA playoffs' second round after a thrilling opener against the Rockets followed by a tough loss to Minnesota in which Stephen Curry injured his hamstring. The team is trying to string together a roster that can contend, though that appears to be getting ever-more difficult in the Western Conference.

But the first step the team will take as it tries to bolster the core of Curry, Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green will come Wednesday, when the NBA tips off its draft. The Warriors do not have a first-round pick (they have No. 41 in the secodn round), so they will be observers, though there is a chance the team will get involved in a move into the first round.

General manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. said he wil be ready for all possibilities, that the Warriors have done their work on second-rounders, late first-rounders, and lottery picks all the way up to presumed No. 1 Cooper Flagg.

"We do the whole thing, just from a process standpoint, to be able to look back, to see how we're evaluating players," Dunleavy said. "Since I've been here, we've drafted almost at every level. We've drafted 2, we've drafted 7, we've drafted 19, we've drafted multiple picks in the second round, last pick of the first round, that type of stuff.

"You've got to be ready for anything, and I think it's just a good exercise to go through for us to have a whole complete board. You never know; draft night something happens, you trade up. So we've got to be ready for everything."

Assuming the Warriors do not make a move and instead just wind up picking 41st, the priority is not necessarily bringing in the most talent. It's bringing in a player who can potentially make the team and contribute in the short term. Last year, for example, the Warriors could have taken a higher upside risk at No. 52, but took Quentin Post, who did make the team and had an impact.

"I think generally the later you go, the higher probability of the guy making it. That's what we lean towards," Dunleavy said.

"Usually those guys have a nice rounded skill set. They have some maybe glaring deficiency with size or athleticism or one blatant thing they're missing but they do a lot of other things really well, and maybe that's how you can beat the system a little bit and get a guy in here that can survive."

But Dunleavy did warn that getting a contributor in the middle of the second round is not easy.

"That would be great, but I always say, it's really hard to do," he said. "We've been fortunate in the last couple years between QP and Trayce (Jackson-Davis), guys that have been able to come in and play right away a little bit has been great.

"I just never bank on that. I just think it's hard. You'd be lucky to draft a guy in the second round that can make it at all."

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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