Prior to the upcoming NBA draft, Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy addressed draft possibilities, Jonathan Kuminga’s future and the likelihood of adding another big-name player.
Scott Strazzante/S.F. Chronicle
His penchant for picking playable second-rounders in the NBA draft notwithstanding, Golden State Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy acknowledged the challenge he’s facing Thursday with the 41st pick.
“You’d be lucky to draft a guy in the second round who can make it at all,” he said Monday afternoon during his pre-draft news conference in Chase Center’s interview room. “I think we have to be realistic about what it is. … We’re going to analyze this (draft), look at it and try to find the best player we can find that’ll contribute to this franchise.”
Dunleavy indicated it’s more likely they might trade back deeper into the second round than it is they would trade up into the first round. Should the Warriors maintain the 41st pick Thursday night, they’ll hope to add an immediate contributor as they have through his first two drafts. With the 57th pick in 2023, they acquired big man Trayce Jackson-Davis, and with the 52nd pick a year ago, they added big man Quinten Post. Both cracked Golden State’s rotation as rookies.
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Even so, second-round draft picks don’t often carve out lengthy careers for themselves in the NBA. With that in mind, Dunleavy is targeting a prospect with a pro-ready trait or two. Shooting, length, athleticism and feel are among the virtues the Warriors covet. They’ve spent the last month conducting workouts with veteran collegiate prospects at Chase Center.
“Generally, the later you go, it’s just the higher probability of the guy making it we lean toward and usually those guys have a nice, well-rounded skill set,” Dunleavy said. “They have maybe a 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 kind of beat the system a little bit and get a guy in here that can survive.”
Among Dunleavy’s other notable pre-draft talking points:
On Jonathan Kuminga: The explosive 22-year-old forward is bound for restricted free agency this summer, and Dunleavy said resolving it “is a main priority” going into NBA free agency. Restricted free agents are free to sign an offer sheet with another team, but their current club maintains a right to first refusal and is free to match the contract offer.
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Dunleavy said he’d like to “figure something out sooner than later” — be it an extension or a sign-and-trade transaction.
Kuminga averaged 15.3 points this season on 45.4% shooting (with 30.5% 3-point shooting) in 47 games, and 15.3 points (while shooting 48.4% overall with 40% 3-point shooting) in eight playoff games, despite initially being out of the postseason rotation.
Dunleavy also acknowledged restricted free agency “can drag out a little bit” while noting the Warriors are comfortable “with who JK is as a player and what he can do for our organization.” A severe midseason right ankle sprain — coupled with Golden State’s acquisition of star wing Jimmy Butler — made for an uneven season for Kuminga. The Warriors would look to clarify his role amid conversations this offseason about his future, Dunleavy said.
“I think those conversations (about a role) will need to happen — especially the way this season kind of unfolded last year,” Dunleavy added. “There were some moments where he wasn’t playing as much, and then the role is bigger. He’s injured. All this up-and-down. … (His role) will probably be necessary to clarify.”
On the trade market: Dunleavy said the Warriors will be “opportunistic” in the trade market while later noting they stand to improve their depth in the middle of their roster. They canvassed the trade market last offseason, searching for a co-star to play with Stephen Curry and filling that need by acquiring Butler midseason.
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As a result, with Curry, Butler and Draymond Green accounting for 82% of the active payroll, $170.5 million against a luxury tax line of $187.8 million and restrictive tax aprons of $195.9 million and $207.8 million), Dunleavy indicated that it’s unlikely the Warriors trade for another player on a big-ticket contract.
“We’ll look at players that we really like. It’s just almost impossible for us to add players in the salary range of guys we were looking at last season since we’ve added Jimmy,” Dunleavy said. “That would be the only limiter. But in terms of finding talent and improving this team, we’re going to look under every rock to try to do that.”
On young guards’ health: Moses Moody underwent surgery last month to repair a torn UCL in his shooting thumb while Brandin Podziemski underwent surgeries for shooting wrist debridement and a core muscle injury.
Dunleavy said that Podziemski and Moody, starters for Golden State’s playoff push, will “definitely be ready by training camp and even have a good portion of their summer for player development.”