With the draft set to begin in less than 24 hours, the Warriors’ options remain endless with two first round picks and two second round picks. There is likely to be a lot of movement on draft night, but will the Warriors get in on the act?
Stephen Curry is a native of Charlotte. He went to Charlotte Christian high school, and his dad, Del Curry is a broadcaster for the Bobcats. And there’s no doubting that he would love to play for his hometown team. He even picked at the idea awhile back-
“Of course I’d like to play here – it’s home and I know a lot of people. But that doesn’t mean I’m trying to get out of Golden State”
While the Bobcats are in complete rebuild mode, Stephen Curry could be the piece they build their roster around in the future.
However, the Warriors could have a slight problem when trying to trade their point guard. Curry’s seemingly crystal ankles are no secret at this point and it would be a risky gamble for any team that decides to acquire him. But when he is healthy, Curry has proven that he can lead a team both by example and vocally. At this point his ankles are never going to be a 100 percent, but he is still young at 24 years-old, so it could be worth a gamble.
The Bobcats, meanwhile, are a mess in every facet imaginable. Not only are they in need of a leader, but a point guard to play alongside Kemba Walker. And while the Warriors love Curry running the point, I’m sure newly promoted general manger, Bob Myers, wouldn’t be against trading him to Charlotte for the second pick in this year’s draft.
Being in the rebuild mode, the Bobcats would prefer to have a surplus of picks rather than just one high lottery pick because they need pieces to fill out their roster. And the Warriors have plenty of extra picks. They could package Curry, their two second round picks, and possibly Dorrell Wright for that number two pick. Wright could replace Corey Maggette who was just traded to Detroit, and the Bobcats would get more young pieces.
It’s doubtful that the Warriors need four more rookies because at this point, they are just a few pieces away from being a contender in the Western Conference, so there’s no use in drafting four players that could never pan out.
However trading Curry to the Bobcats could meet the needs of those couple missing pieces. First of all, drafting second what provide the Warriors a chance to draft Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, and second, they would be able to keep their seventh pick and possibly draft Damian Lillard to fill Curry’s shoes.
Lillard could take awhile to learn the NBA game, but there’s no doubt that he will be a special talent at the next level. He averaged nearly 25 PPG last season at Weber State, and he has good size to be a point guard. Not to mention that he’s a scoring point guard and has an array of moves around the hope. While he’s not a “true” point guard per say, he has the ability to be one if he committed himself.
And best of all, Lilliard wants to play for the Warriors, his hometown team as he says below.
“I grew up a Warriors fan, I’m still a Warriors fan,” Lillard, 21, said. “If I go somewhere else next year, that’ll be the first year I haven’t been a Warriors fan. I would love to play for my hometown team.”
If the Warriors were able to acquire the second pick they would likely get Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, a nearly perfect fit for their current roster, and they could draft a point or big men with their seventh pick. It all makes sense for both the Warriors and the Bobcats, now it just has to happen.
