19 hours ago
- Sport
- San Francisco Chronicle
Who will Warriors pick in NBA draft? Here are five options at No. 41
Golden State Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy won't be too picky with his second-round pick — so long as the franchise for which he works maintains its standing in the NBA draft.
'We've been fortunate in the last couple years between (Quinten Post) and Trayce (Jackson-Davis), guys that have been able to come in and play right away a little bit has been great,' he said Monday during his pre-draft news conference at Chase Center.
'I just never bank on that. I just think it's hard. You'd be lucky to draft a guy in the second round that can make it at all.'
The two-day NBA draft starts Wednesday with the first round at New York's Barclays Center, where the Warriors won't have a draft pick announced unless they execute a trade. Their first-round pick was sent to the Miami Heat midway through 2024-25 in the package that netted Jimmy Butler, while their second-round pick (No. 41 overall) is set for spending Thursday night.
'We're going through the stuff right now, looking at things, and come Thursday night, we'll be ready to select if that's where we're at,' Dunleavy said. 'We'll obviously look at other options, trades, trade up, trade back, trade out. Anything's possible. But feel pretty good with where we're at, getting to know the draft pretty well, and hopefully we can grab ourselves another good player and move forward, grow them, develop them, and add them to the program.'
Here are five potential fits with the 41st pick who the Warriors hosted for a pre-draft workout:
Sion James (Duke): First a four-year standout at Tulane — averaging 14 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.6 steals while shooting 38.1% from 3-point range in 2023-24 — and then a connective guard-wing in Durham, James delivered 8.6 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game in 2024-25. He shot 41.3% from 3-point range while playing off freshman phenom (and presumptive No. 1 pick) Cooper Flagg and helping the Blue Devils to the Final Four.
Sturdy and long while standing 6-foot-6, James, 22, can guard across the backcourt and wing — garnering All-Defensive ACC honors last season.
Kobe Johnson (UCLA): Johnson, solid as a 6-6 senior wing, concluded his collegiate career in Westwood after playing three seasons at USC. He was twice an All-Pac-12 defender (2023-24, 2024-25) for the Trojans and All-Big Ten defender last season — leading the Bruins with 5.9 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game.
Complementary offensively as a corner 3-point shooter and cutter, Johnson shot 36.2% from 3-point range (3.1 attempts) en route to 7.9 points per game. That after shooting 32.9% from 3-point range the previous three seasons.
RJ Luis (St. John's): Checking in as a 6-7 junior wing who averaged 18.2 points per game last season, Luis is a relentless rebounder and a committed, malleable team defender. He grabbed 7.2 rebounds per game in 2024-25 and was an Associated Press second-team All-American who willfully guards across the wing.
A streaky shooter from beyond the arc, Luis shot 33.6% from 3-point range (3.9 attempts per game) last season for the Red Storm. In his first two collegiate seasons — he played his freshman season at Massachusetts — he shot 27.9% from deep on low volume.
Micah Peavy (Georgetown): Peavy blossomed with the Hoyas last season as a 6-foot-8 fifth-year senior wing, having started collegiately at Texas Tech and continuing for three years at Texas Christian. He averaged 17.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.3 steals in 2024-25, versatile and athletic while guarding multiple positions.
He also shot 40% (4.1 attempts per game) from 3-point range after four seasons as a 26.7% low-volume deep shooter. As a result, the 23-year-old was bestowed with first-team All-Big East honors.
Brice Williams (Nebraska): Williams as a 6-7 sixth-year ballhandling senior averaged 20.4 points per game last season as Nebraska's offensive focal point en route to All-Big Ten first-team honors. He shot 37% from 3-point range (5.3 attempts per game), deft off the dribble and off the catch as a 39.3% shooter the previous four seasons, three at Charlotte and one with the Cornhuskers.
He also averaged 4.1 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game last season, armed with the positional size and length to be an effective team defender.
