In today’s Dub Hub:
- ESPN’s latest mock draft projects the Warriors to pick 19-year old Mexican prospect Karim Lopez with the 11th pick.
- The Ringer’s Bill Simmons jokingly proposes an idea for a new Warriors’ superteam.
- The Athletic’s Sam Amick reports on potential new changes to the NBA Draft Lottery.
The Golden State Warriors failed to make the playoffs, giving them an early start on the upcoming offseason. Their 37-45 record to finish the regular season leaves them with the 11th-best odds in the NBA Draft lottery, making it likely they’ll be picking just outside of the top 10 barring a miracle jump into the top four.
So, with the 11th pick, ESPN’s latest mock draft projects the Warriors to select New Zealand Breakers forward Karim Lopez.
The top overseas-based player in a thin international
prospect class, Lopez has a chance to help himself in predraft workouts, where teams will gain a better sense of his physical traits and skill level coming off a positive year in the NBL. Showing progress as a perimeter shooter in those settings would help his case to sneak into the top 10, as he jockeys for position with Ament and Yaxel Lendeborg, two other versatile forwards.
A Mexican-born prospect, Lopez is viewed as one of the top international players in this year’s class. While the global pool isn’t as strong as in previous years, the 6-foot-9, 225-pound forward averaged 11.9 points and 6.1 rebounds in the NBL, flashing the size and versatility NBA teams covet on the wing.
For Golden State, the fit is straightforward. Outside of a breakout year from Gui Santos, the roster has long lacked consistent size and depth on the wing — something Lopez could help address as a multi-positional forward with long-term upside.
Still, with uncertainty surrounding Steve Kerr’s future as the head coach, a roster coming off multiple significant injuries, and a mixed track record developing young talent, it remains unclear whether the Warriors will use this selection on a 19-year old project like Lopez. In fact, it’s fair to question if they even keep the pick at all or move it in a win-now deal for one of the league’s disgruntled stars.
Either way, the Warriors desperately need an infusion of size and athleticism, and this draft pick represents their best means of doing that this offseason.
For more on this and other news around the NBA, here is our latest news round-up for Tuesday, April 28th:
Warriors News:
2026 NBA mock draft: Risers, fallers ahead of the May 10 lottery | ESPN
Golden State enters an uncertain offseason, with Steve Kerr’s future unclear and a need to consider the long-term health of the roster, still anchored by 38-year-old Stephen Curry. Selecting a younger player such as Lopez, who has the experience to potentially slot in early on his rookie deal, might help mesh the short and long-term goals.
Why Steph Curry’s end-of-season admission can’t be ignored by the Warriors | NBC Sports Bay Area
“We don’t have to keep saying championship, championship, championship every day, even though we’ve experienced that,” Curry said. “It’s can we just build the foundation again with what this team needs to do with the way that the game is played now with how fast it is, how young and athletic it is. All of those things. We have to kind of put everything on the drawing board to get back to just being competitive every single night.”
Fast, young and athletic the Warriors are not. Between Steph, Steve Kerr, Draymond Green and a long list of Warriors past, a standard has been built in Golden State. A new foundation, however that might look, needs to be created by getting back to the drawing board.
His chase isn’t over yet. What Curry admitted also can’t be ignored.
The Ringer’s Bill Simmons jokingly proposes a Warriors superteam featuring LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Klay Thompson
NBA News:
What I’m hearing about NBA Draft Lottery changes, coaching hot seats and more | The Athletic
Yet according to league and team sources, a heavy front-runner has emerged among the three proposed solutions to curb the widespread tanking problem that put such a stain on this season: Option No. 1, in which 18 teams would be part of the draft lottery (rather than the current 14) and the bottom 10 teams would all have an 8 percent chance of landing the No. 1 pick. The remaining odds — 20 percent in all — would be divided among the remaining eight teams. In the current system, the bottom three teams all have a 14 percent chance of landing the No. 1 pick and the odds decline from there.
Mavericks’ Cooper Flagg named NBA’s Rookie of the Year
In case you missed it at Golden State of Mind:
Report: Warriors organization unified in wanting Steve Kerr back
“There is not one person within the organization who wants Kerr to walk away, sources said,” Siegel wrote. “Lacob and Dunleavy have both made it known to Kerr that they want him back, as have Curry, Green, and the entire locker room. One of the main reasons Butler feels so comfortable with the Warriors since arriving at last year’s trade deadline is due to the family-like atmosphere Kerr has helped create.”
Follow @unstoppablebaby on X for all the latest news on the Golden State Warriors.
