The Golden State Warriors were hoping to pull off a trade to guarantee themselves a lottery pick no matter how Wednesday’s draft lottery turns out. But talks between Golden State and Utah, according to a league source, are all but dead.
So it appears Warriors general manager Bob Myers may need the good luck charm he’s taking to New York.
“Someone in the office handed me an Indian token that they say is good luck,” Myers said in a pre-lottery conference call. “But I’m open to more suggestions.”
Golden State gets to keep its pick if it lands in the top seven. If it’s No. 8 or lower, the pick goes to Utah as part of a previous trade. The Warriors had been working diligently to reach a deal with Utah so they would keep their lottery pick even if they fall out of the top seven. But the source said, at this point, “that’s probably not going to happen.”
So Golden State will have to rely solely on the odds, which are in their favor. The Warriors head into the draft lottery slotted at No. 7 – which means they have a 72.66 percent chance of keeping their pick, based on the odds released by the NBA. It also means Golden State has just shy of a 28 percent chance of falling out of the top seven and losing the pick.
Maybe it’s time for the Warriors to benefit from some good fortune. The last time Golden State moved up in the draft lottery was in 1995, when it selected Maryland star Joe Smith with the No. 1 overall pick. Since then, the Warriors have been in the draft lottery 14 times. In all 14, they have stayed where they were slotted or fallen back.
Golden State has a 3.6 percent chance of winning the lottery and the rights to draft Kentucky star forward Anthony Davis. The Warriors have a 12.66 percent chance of moving up.
Is this the Warriors’ year?
“You’d like to think so. You’d hope so,” Myers said. “But the odds are against us moving up. Hopefully, we stay where we are at worst. But again, it’s chance. Any time you’re dealing with chance, there are a lot of outcomes you like and some you don’t. That’s part of the enjoyment of it, I think, from the fans’ perspective. From the organization’s perspective, it’s not as enjoyable, more stressful.”
What happens in the lottery figures to have significant ramifications on their offseason. With several holes to fill, the new Myers regime could use a lottery pick. Golden State already has three draft picks (a late first-rounder and a couple of second-rounders) and small forward Dorell Wright’s $4.1 million expiring contract as chips.
With the lottery pick in tow, the Warriors could select one of the draft’s best prospects, trade up to land one of the elite prospects, or use the picks to acquire a veteran player.
“It’s endless in regards to what we’re able to do, which to me is a huge positive,” Myers said. “Having all the options that we do allows you to vet various ideas. It allows you to explore a lot, and really there is no boundary when you have that many options to explore. … Going into a draft with four picks is certainly a huge advantage.”
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©2012 the Contra Costa Times (Walnut Creek, Calif.)
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