zimpy27 wrote:Well none of the players look like franchise stars in this draft, the ones that could would need of development. You have to play these young guys when they aren't impactful so that they can learn and one day be impactful. You'd be doing that the first 2-3 years which would be detrimental to the team unless one already had NBA level defense and offense as a base.
I don't subscribe to the idea that you have to play young players in a bigger role than they are prepared for in order for them to become great players. In fact, I'd argue that it's often detrimental to the development of young players. I have yet to see evidence that talented players with initially big roles on crappy teams are more likely to develop into good players than talented players with initially lesser roles on good teams. I'd actually expect that the opposite is the case more often than not, but I know many people seem to disagree with me on this.
Of course you have to play them minutes. But that won't be a problem since the Warriors have to rely on minutes from the young players no matter what. But you don't have to play them starter minutes and you don't have to give them the usage of star players. Play them in a role they can handle and the players you draft at the top of the draft are going to be fine. If you are a truly good team, much less a veritable contender, then playing a talented young player extended minutes in a sensible role is neither going to sink your team nor impede the development of said player. Tatum played 30 MPG on a good Celtics team in 2018, with a usage below 20%, and he is hardly some generational prospect – and if your top pick is less ready and only plays 20 MPG, that's fine too.
All I'm saying is that IF the Warriors to decide to keep their pick, then they're going to be drafting for the future – and they are going to pick whoever they believe can develop into a veritable franchise cornerstone. At least I'd hope they do that. Whether or not there is a superstar in this draft remains to be seen. Sure, there is no ‘sure thing’ in this draft but plenty of players have a chance if things break right – we see that in many drafts. Franchise cornerstones as in players who are going to develop into All-Star-level players are, however, almost assuredly going to be picked at the top of the draft. If the Warriors can find one of those, that's a win.