The Golden State Warriors stayed right where they were in the draft order on Thursday. They landed the seventh overall pick in the lottery, which meant they . They also have an additional pick at the end of the first round, giving them the ability to stockpile two quality prospects to help rebuild their team.
Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress files his latest mock for Yahoo Sports. The Warriors take Harrison Barnes of North Carolina with the seventh overall pick to give the team a versatile perimeter threat and a wing who can create his own shot.
The Warriors took a major leap of faith in trading fan favorite Monta Ellis for injured center Andrew Bogut and handing the full-time ball-handling responsibilities to Stephen Curry, who lost most of the season to an ankle injury. If everyone stays healthy, they have a very intriguing roster on paper, but still could use some additional scoring punch on the wing. Harrison Barnes duplicates many of the things Klay Thompson and Dorell Wright do. He's also not a particularly gifted shot creator, but he has great size and scoring instincts and still has plenty of room to improve at age 19.
With the final pick of the first round, the 30th pick, the Warriors take a big man, one Andrew Nicholson of St. Bonaventure.
Having addressed their biggest need (small forward) in the lottery, the Warriors can afford to take a flyer on a talented late-blooming big man like Nicholson who might be able to offer some frontcourt depth down the road. The Warriors don't have an established backup power forward yet, and with the uncertain health of Andrew Bogut, Nicholson's size and length could come in handy down the road.
Talk about the Warriors and who they should take in the draft by heading over to Golden State of Mind.
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