Time for some Wire-writer-on-Wire-writer violence.
A couple days ago, the NBA Wires crew published a 60-pick mock 2021 NBA Draft, complete with trades and all. Warriors Wire site editor Tommy Call III made the Warriors’ picks at no. 7 and no. 14 in the first round, taking UConn’s James Bouknight and Oregon’s Chris Duarte.
The Warriors have a lot of positional needs to fill this offseason if they want to compete for a title. At the same time, with an aging core, they’re left with the difficult decision in this draft of trying to take instant-impact players or higher-upside guys with larger potential.
The wild card, of course, is that they say to heck with all that and jettison those picks and other pieces for a big star to go all in. Bradley Beal, anyone?
With all that in mind, I’m here to grade Tommy’s selections of Bouknight and Duarte in this mock. If I’m not a fan of a pick, I’ll explain why and offer alternate options at that draft slot.
No. 7: James Bouknight, UConn
Joshua Bickel-USA TODAY Sports
Grade: C+ At first, I was ready to laugh at this selection of Bouknight, to be honest. One quick glance at his three-point shooting across his college career - 32% on 3.4 attempts a game - suggests he doesn't offer the floor-spacing ability the Warriors so desperately need right now. Then I watched this video of Bouknight. Haha. Never mind. https://twitter.com/DraftExpress/status/1408933504663097350?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1408933504663097350%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fbluemanhoop.com%2F2021%2F07%2F21%2Fjames-bouknight-has-strong-nba-draft-workout-with-golden-state-warriors%2F There is plenty of evidence to suggest that a player's three-point numbers in college aren't always an accurate indicator of how their shooting ability will translate to the pros. Kent Bazemore, for example, shot 32.1% from three his senior year of college and was one of the Warriors' most reliable snipers last season. In fact, free-throw shooting in college might be a better predictor of shooting success in the NBA, and Bouknight's sitting pretty with that: 80% from the stripe in college. Also, he can do cool stuff like this: https://twitter.com/DrewShiller/status/1407718814448427009?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1407718814448427009%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nbcsports.com%2Fbayarea%2Fwarriors%2Fnba-draft-rumors-james-bouknight-works-out-warriors Bouknight projects as one of the top scorers in the draft, and could develop into an absolute microwave within no time. Kevin O'Connor of The Ringer lists his NBA comparisons as Donovan Mitchell, CJ McCollum and Jordan Clarkson. Pretty neat guy to have on the roster coming off the bench behind Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. The issue, however? CJ McCollum and Jordan Clarkson are pretty similar player-ceiling comparisons for another young guard on the Dubs' roster, Jordan Poole. Bouknight is not a natural point guard. Neither is Poole, even if he'll be used as a primary ballhandler moving forward. There's the potential that drafting Bouknight will create unnecessary competition for minutes between similar players - Bouknight is more athletic, Poole perhaps a better playmaker/shooter, but both fill essentially the same overall role. I don't hate this pick by any means. If you're going with the "pick-the-best-guy-available" strategy, you'd probably take Bouknight. But if the Warriors choose to keep their pick at 7, I might consider taking a couple of players who can fill more holes on the roster in both the short-and-long-term: Davion Mitchell, who went a pick later in this mock to the Orlando Magic, and Franz Wagner, who went at pick 13 to the Indiana Pacers. Mitchell is a ready-made backup ballhandler who'd be a perfect fit with Poole as a strong playmaker, catch-and-shoot threat and good defender, and could instantly eat up rotational minutes while also having a high ceiling. Wagner might be a reach at 7, but he's a Swiss-Army-Knife type player that could give the Warriors frontcourt depth in the now and the future with his playmaking, shooting and intelligent defensive instincts. Bouknight is tempting, but might not offer the all-around impact those guys could.
No. 14: Chris Duarte, Oregon
Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports
Grade: A In my article on the Warriors' most important areas to fill in free agency, I urged them to find "any wing that can switch on defense and hit a three." Perhaps they need not look further than the draft for such a player. One, in fact, that could do both things extremely well. Chris Duarte would be a perfect selection at 14. He has an NBA-ready three-point stroke, knocking down 42% of his triples for Oregon last season on good volume, and notched 1.9 steals and 0.8 blocks per game as a physical, lengthy defender. He fills instant needs on the Warriors' roster, and could eventually graduate even within his rookie year to starting next to Curry and Thompson, giving Golden State a dynamite three-point-shooting tandem. Moreover, he has a higher ceiling than just that of, say, a Landry Shamet. He can score ably off the dribble, and could develop as a playmaker, particularly in the Warriors' system. The Dubs could opt for more frontcourt depth at this spot, but it's hard to see a player providing more of an instant impact than Duarte. Particularly with the options left on the board in the mock, this was the right choice.
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