In his career, Jerry West has been eerily prophetic when it comes to eyeing talent. In a recent Oakland Tribune article about the Warriors recent hiring of Jerry West, contributor Mark Emmons notes not only West’s successful gamble on prep-to-pro Kobe Bryant, but also his claim that Monta Ellis was going to be a future all-star. . . .upon watching Monta play in high school. Former Warrior coach Eric Musselman recalls:
“I saw him the morning after he took a private plane down to Jackson, Miss., to watch Monta Ellis as a high school player, and he told me, ‘I just saw a future All-Star,’ " said Musselman, then a Memphis assistant. "I was thinking, ‘How could you even project that?’ "
Draftexpress released its most recent 2011 NBA Mock Draft and Jonathan Givoney has the Warriors taking Washington State’s Klay Thompson in the first round because “’He’s rumored to be a favorite of recently hired consultant Jerry West, which never hurts in the eyes of ownership.’”
West, as quoted by local press, is looking for size and Thompson as a 6’7 shooting guard could fill one of it’s many needs. Based of his Tweets, Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury likes this choice:
I asked another GM about KThompson and he said Thompson isn’t dominant, just a good big guard who will play 10 years in the league.
If West indeed knows what he’s talking about, should the Warriors opt for a lanky shooting guard over the decades-long problem at the power forward and center positions? NBADraft.net believes his best comparable is former Warriors first round draft pick, Marco Belinelli. Ouch.