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If you want a refresher on the trade you can just click here; but basically we got picks and used our capspace to rent some players. The beauty of this lies in the fact that if the Golden State Warriors were to miss the playoffs, the Utah Jazz would walk away with another lottery pick. Of course, if the Dubs don't miss the playoffs, it inherently becomes less valuable.
So, if we assume the Warriors do make the playoffs, what should we expect?
Well, right now Golden State has the 8th best record in the league. I don't think they're a serious threat to be in the Top Five (San Antonio Spurs, Indiana Pacers, Oklahoma City Thunder, Miami Heat, and currently the Houston Rockets). Most likely they'll be picking somewhere between #21 and #25.
Inherently, does this pick have value? Of course! There are plenty of 'okay' players you could possibly end up with if you scout well. And while I don't think the pick will end up being a bottom 5 pick in the first round, let's take a look at who has been picked in these spots over the last 15 NBA Drafts:
Picks #21-25
| NBA | Pick | |||||
| Draft | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | |
| 1 | 1999 | Jeff Foster | Kenny Thomas | Devean George | Andrei Kirilenko | Tim James |
| 2 | 2000 | Morris Peterson | Donnell Harvey | DeShawn Stevenson | Dalibor Bagaric | Jake Tsakalidis |
| 3 | 2001 | Joseph Forte | Jeryl Sasser | Brandon Armstrong | Raul Lopez | Gerald Wallace |
| 4 | 2002 | Qyntel Woods | Casey Jacobsen | Tayshaun Prince | Nenad Krstic | Frank Williams |
| 5 | 2003 | Boris Diaw | Zoran Planinic | Travis Outlaw | Brian Cook | Carlos Delfino |
| 6 | 2004 | Pavel Podkolzin | Viktor Khryapa | Sergei Monia | Delonte West | Tony Allen |
| 7 | 2005 | Nate Robinson | Jarrett Jack | Francisco Garcia | Luther Head | Johan Petro |
| 8 | 2006 | Rajon Rondo | Marcus Williams | Josh Boone | Kyle Lowry | Shannon Brown |
| 9 | 2007 | Deaquan Cook | Jared Dudley | Wilson Chandler | Rudy Fernandez | Morris Almond |
| 10 | 2008 | Ryan Anderson | Courtney Lee | Kosta Koufos | Serge Ibaka | Nicolas Batum |
| 11 | 2009 | Darren Collison | Victor Claver | Omri Casspi | Byron Mullens | Rodrigue Beaubois |
| 12 | 2010 | Craig Brackins | Elliot Williams | Trevor Booker | Damion James | Dominique Jones |
| 13 | 2011 | Nolan Smith | Kenneth Faried | Nikola Mirotic | Reggie Jackson | MarShon Brooks |
| 14 | 2012 | Jared Sullinger | Fab Melo | John Jenkins | Jared Cunningham | Tony Wroten |
| 15 | 2013 | Gorgui Dieng | Mason Plumlee | Solomon Hill | Tim Hardaway Jr. | Reggie Bullock |
| 46.7% | 13.3% | 20.0% | 33.3% | 33.3% |
Picks #26-30
| NBA | ||||||
| Draft | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | |
| 1 | 1999 | Vonteego Cummings | Jumaine Jones | Scott Padgett | Leon Smith | John Celestand |
| 2 | 2000 | Mamadou N'Diaye | Primoz Brezic | Erick Barkley | Mark Madsen | Marko Jaric |
| 3 | 2001 | Samuel Dalembert | Jamaal Tinsley | Tony Parker | Trenton Hassell | Gilbert Arenas |
| 4 | 2002 | John Salmons | Chris Jefferies | Dan Dickau | Steve Logan | Roger Mason |
| 5 | 2003 | Ndudi Ebi | Kendrick Perkins | Leandro Barbosa | Josh Howard | Maciej Lampe |
| 6 | 2004 | Kevin Martin | Sasha Vujacic | Beno Udrih | David Harrison | Anderson Varejao |
| 7 | 2005 | Jason Maxiell | Linas Kleiza | Ian Mahinmi | Wayne Simien | David Lee |
| 8 | 2006 | Jordan Farmar | Sergio Rodriguez | Maurice Ager | Mardy Collins | Joel Freeland |
| 9 | 2007 | Aaron Brooks | Arron Afflalo | Tiago Splitter | Alando Tucker | Petteri Koponen |
| 10 | 2008 | George Hill | Darrell Arthur | Donte Green | D.J. White | J.R. Giddens |
| 11 | 2009 | Taj Gibson | DeMarre Carroll | Wayne Ellington | Toney Douglass | Christian Eyenga |
| 12 | 2010 | Quincy Pondexter | Jordan Crawford | Greivis Vasquez | Daniel Orton | Lazar Hayward |
| 13 | 2011 | Jordan Hamilton | JaJuan Johnson | Norris Cole | Cory Joseph | Jimmy Butler |
| 14 | 2012 | Miles Plumlee | Arnett Moultrie | Perry Jones III | Marquis Teague | Festus Ezeli |
| 15 | 2013 | Andre Roberson | Rudy Gobert | Livio Jean-Charles | Archie Goodwin | Nemanja Nedovic |
| 33.3% | 33.3% | 20.0% | 6.7% | 26.7% |
Well, the chances are about 1 in 3 that you get someone worth keeping. The more reasonable thing would be to package this draft pick with other assets (money, future picks, current picks, and current players) to move up. I'm confident that Dennis Lindsey is thinking about this right now. He has proven to me a willingness to make moves on draft day. I know, my phone battery died on draft night mainly because of all of his wheeling and dealings.
So I guess the bottom line here is that with an aggressive GM, any pick can be worth something. A late first rounder isn't always a place where Hall of Famers are picked -- but you can get a very good starter if your scouts know their stuff. And again, I suspect that DL is both an aggressive GM, and has great scouts. I would be surprised if we didn't end up using the #whatever spot pick we get from the Warriors this year in an impressive way that helps the team.