What the Warriors plan to do with their first round pick has taken a backseat to the rumored Monta Ellis trade plans spurred by Jerry West’s comments about needing size and depth over scoring. The future of their first round pick remains under wraps as the Warriors plan to work out a slew of less heralded yet versatile big guards and wings tomorrow that don’t seem to be on anyone’s mock drafts.
According to their tweets this morning, the Warriors plan to work out George Mason’s Cam Long, Boston University’s John Holland, Virginia Commonwealth’s Jamie Skeen, Virginia Tech’s Jeff Allen, and University of Texas El Paso’s Julyan Stone. None of these players have cracked the top-60 candidates of any mock draft I’ve come across and with that said, it’s doubtful that these players will be in the mix when the Warriors look to draft in the second round (#43 overall). But I guess that’s what folks said about the New York Knicks last season when they drafted Stanford’s Landry Fields and he turned out to be a very productive player within a very clearly defined role.
Seemingly heeding West’s call for more size, the Warriors are also looking for some rebounding help as players like Skeen and Stone produced solid rebounding numbers. Stone seems the most intriguing of the prospects given his size and court vision. His last season averages are intriguing: 8.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 5.3 assists.
Based on early feedback from workouts, Stone seems to understand that he may go undrafted. But he seems fine with that. Under this assumption, the Warriors may be working out some possible undrafted players to bring into camp (if the lockout doesn’t happen).