Mike Dunleavy Jr. is working the phones ahead of Tuesday’s NBA Draft, and apparently one of his first calls went to Charlotte. According to ClutchPoints NBA insider Brett Siegel, the Warriors reached out to the Hornets a couple weeks ago to see if they could snag both the No. 14 and No. 18 picks. The response? Not interested.
Sources told Siegel the Hornets are comfortable staying put in this draft. They weren’t tempted by whatever Golden State offered, and that’s that. But the Warriors haven’t stopped there. They’re still looking to move around, possibly even trading down from No. 11 if the price is right. And the idea of adding another pick in the late teens alongside that 11th pick is still very much alive, Siegel reported.
This isn’t just typical pre-draft noise. Golden State is in a weird spot right now. Stephen Curry and Draymond Green aren’t enough to carry a team into the playoffs anymore. On top of that, Jimmy Butler is expected to miss a big chunk of next season recovering from a torn meniscus. So yeah, they need help. At multiple positions.
Dunleavy essentially admitted as much during a recent press conference. He said the team can’t afford to be picky about which position they target in the draft because honestly, every position is a need. It’s not often you hear a Warriors exec say that publicly, but here we are.
The draft is Tuesday night at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Golden State goes in with one first-round pick and a roster that feels kind of stuck between eras. Whether they end up with two picks or just the one they’ve got now, it’s clear they’re trying to shake things up.
Charlotte, meanwhile, seems happy to hang onto those two lottery-level selections. The Hornets have been rebuilding for what feels like forever, but maybe they actually like what they’re seeing in this draft class at those slots. Or maybe they just didn’t like what Golden State was offering. Either way, the Warriors are still hunting.
Leave a Comment