Golden State were crowned NBA Champions just last week. You would think that after winning the title, their presence in the NBA draft would be considerably ‘low key’ (Well, as low key as you can get for a team with Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant on it).
However, it appears that the Warriors may have hit the jackpot in the draft once again, paying the Chicago Bulls $3.5 million for the draft right to Power Forward Jordan Bell with the 38th pick in the draft.
The 22 year old from Oregon University has been recognized as ‘the best defender in the draft.
The Warriors repeated an almost identical move as last season, where they acquired Patrick McCaw with the 38th pick in the same way.
After seeing McCaw successfully fulfilling his role off the Warriors bench, they have seemingly targeted Bell for his defensive attributes off the bench.
If the Warriors do decide to go small however, Bell could be set to become a part of a death line up which would see Draymond at Power Forward, Kevin Durant at Small forward, and Klay and Steph in the backcourt. Bell would be the rim protector.
The Warriors are known for their draft success. They drafted Draymond Green with the 35th pick back in 2012. Many players from their Championship winning teams of 2015 and 2017 are a result of specific scouting, identifying players to perform a certain role, rather than simply drafting ‘the best player’.
Jordan Bell seems to be yet another example of exceptional scouting by the Warriors, who seem to always be moving from strength to strength.
Bell will be on show with McCaw in the Summer league, but it will not be until next season, in particular the playoffs, where we see the full impact of this move.
Although it is too early to jump to conclusions, it seems Golden State have ‘done it again’. Kudos to them.
