At his pre-draft press conference today, Warriors GM Bob Myers addressed a number of rumors regarding his team’s efforts to obtain a pick in this year’s draft and the trade rumors swirling about the franchise. Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group transcribed the session. Here are some of the highlights:
Without any picks right now, how likely do you think it is that you’ll end up with a pick or two by Thursday?
“You know what? About a week before last year’s draft, I said it was unlikely and we ended up with one. I think it’s going to be harder this year because we don’t have a second-round pick and we don’t have the $3.2MM to spend on a pick. It’s possible. I think unlikely is how I’d gauge it. But everything’s pretty fluid so I never want to rule it out. I think it will be difficult to get one this year.“
You have zero to spend [on purchasing draft picks]?
“We don’t have any to spend, not until July 1st. And unfortunately the draft’s before July 1st, so we don’t have a ton of tools to obtain a pick.”
There was a report that you guys were looking at [Doug] McDermott and [Nik] Stauskas. Is that just due diligence, or is there some hope you can get that kind of pick?
“When I was an agent, it’s hard to get your players to the teams that have picks. It’s hard to even cover the range of picks you might be in. So for us, a team without any picks, the only option for us to go see players is to go see them, wherever they are. So we spent a good portion of May seeing a variety of players. But we did end up seeing most of the guys that are in the top 20. We actually sent a scout to the workout you might’ve been referring to. That’s the only way for us to see guys. And you never know on draft night, what may or may not occur. But what you can’t do is sit there and get presented with whatever pick it is and say, well, I haven’t seen that guy so I can’t make a decision. You have to make a decision, and that means you have to cover your bases the best you can.”
Not trying to make you address a specific trade rumor, but how much does this team value Klay Thompson? What is his value to the team?
“To the team? It’s extremely high. And well-deserved. I think his value to the entire league is very high. I ran into J.J. Redick after our series with them, and when you play against somebody in a playoff series, you really get an appreciation for him. We saw each other seven times. And he walked over to me and he said, you know, Klay’s a pretty good player. So that… I think respect from your peers is almost the most important thing as a player. He certainly has it. We think he’s been great. And the best thing about him that we’ve seen is improvement. I think everybody that watched him last year saw him, especially near the end of the season, really take a turn as far as getting to the basket and expanding his game. So he’s highly valued within the organization and within the team.”
What are the chances of you guys making a big trade from now until draft night?
“I’ll tell you this, I think probably right now unlikely. Best I can do for you. But I will say this, if you asked me last year at this time would we be in a situation to grab an Andre Iguodala, I would’ve said the same thing. I know it may be hard to believe, but I could get up from this little caucus and five minutes later my phone rings and it’s a deal that I hadn’t thought of, nobody had thought of, and all of a sudden you’re going down that path. But right now, I think it’s unlikely. Right now, today.”