The Golden State Warriors have some important decisions to make ahead of the NBA Draft on Tuesday, June 23. First and foremost, the front office must decide whether to keep the pick and push ahead with adding a rookie to Steve Kerr’s rotation, or whether to dangle the pick in trade talks. Of course, there’s a world they can do both, if the Warriors are willing to trade down.
According to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, the Warriors have indeed explored the option of turning their 11th pick into two draft picks a little later on the board, with the Charlotte Hornets being a potential trade partner. Charlotte holds the 14th and 18th picks in the first round of this year’s draft.
“The Warriors have talked with the Charlotte Hornets about the possibility of swapping draft picks, with Golden State’s No. 11 pick going to Charlotte for Nos. 14 and 18, contingent on certain players being on the board, league sources told HoopsHype,” Scotto reported. “Charlotte has signaled a willingness to move up in the draft, seemingly to leapfrog Oklahoma City, and executives across the league are wondering which player the Hornets could be targeting.”
Dropping back from 11th to 14th, while also adding a second pick just outside of the lottery, is a potentially enticing prospect. Plenty of talent will still be on the board, and the Warriors would get two opportunities to plug gaps on their roster with cost-controlled, high-upside talent. Whether the Hornets would want anything additional in a deal to make that happen would remain to be seen.
It’s likely that Golden State is keeping its options open heading into draft night. It’s logical that they explore every potential avenue available to them. Ultimately, we won’t know how this is going to play out until the draft is underway, but no matter what, the Warriors are in a strong negotiating position right now.
This post originally appeared on Warriors Wire! Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!
This article originally appeared on Warriors Wire: Warriors reportedly exploring trading down in draft
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