The Golden State Warriors are stuck in that strange position at the seventh overall pick of the 2012 NBA Draft. All the potential top prospects who are likely to pan out and perform at a high level will probably be gone, leaving the Warriors with trying to sort out who will be the best of the complimentary players.
There's no doubt Golden State would love to take Harrison Barnes if he falls to them--the Warriors have deep issues they need to correct on the perimeter. Unfortunately for Golden State, the Warriors aren't quite alone in wanting a player of Barnes's caliber, and he will probably be gone before Golden State will have the chance to pick him. So Golden State might have to look elsewhere to fill their needs.
Perhaps a big man like Barnes's teammate Tyler Zeller could help fix things up. Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News has this to report.
If form holds and no top-tier wing drops to them, the Warriors’ pick could be another North Carolina product–big man Tyler Zeller.
Zeller wouldn’t be a sexy choice, and he doesn’t project to be a starting NBA center. But Zeller can rebound, shoot and run and figures to be an immediate producer backing up both post positions.
Remember, both Andrew Bogut and David Lee finished last season on the injured list, Andris Biedrins can’t be counted on even for cameo minutes, and Jeremy Tyler remains a large question mark.
For now, it sounds like the Warriors brass has Zeller ranked ahead of the other second- or third-tier big men, including Illinois’ Meyers Leonard and North Carolina’s John Henson.
Discuss Zeller and Barnes with Warriors fans at Golden State of Mind. Talk about Zeller and Barnes with North Carolina fans over at Carolina March.
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