The NBA is just a few days away from the 2026 Draft, which is scheduled to be held on June 23 and 24, which is the upcoming Tuesday and Wednesday. The Warriors have landed the eleventh overall pick in the first round after finishing last season with a 37-45 record and still managing to be the tenth seed in the West.
Amid the buzz heading into the NBA Draft, the Warriors’ 23-year-old guard, Brandin Podziemski, has revealed what type of prospects he expects Golden State’s front office to be looking at on Tuesday night.
“I think the obvious answer is someone who is ready to play or he can play right away,” Podziemski said Thursday on 95.7 The Game’s ‘Willard & Dibs show.’
“Someone who has experience and is physically mature enough to play in the games right away. I think that’s kind of, as an organization, where we’re at. We’re at the stage where we’re trying to win as much as we can. So I think with the 11th pick, you just have to look for a guy that’s ready to come in and make an impact right away.”
He resonated with the sentiments of Mike Dunleavy, the Warriors’ general manager, who also spoke during a press conference two days ago about the type of talent the front office will be looking at. Dunleavy also said that the Warriors will be looking to bring in a ‘win-now’ player.
Along with the 11th overall pick in the first round, the Warriors also have the 54th pick, which is in the second round. One of these picks could also be traded in the coming days ahead of the NBA Draft.
“Frankly, we need everything, so we don’t need to be picky about this thing… The situation of the roster that stands is going to lend itself to that. Any time we draft a player, we want to be apprehensive about the fact that the guy can come and contribute right away,” said Dunleavy.
“In this scenario, we’ve got four guys under contract who will be helpful for training camp. So, I think there’s an opportunity abound for whoever we draft, both at 11 and 54, to play, and it’s probably a little different than we’ve had in the past. Whether we like it or not, the guys are going to be out there.”
The Warriors have multiple holes in their roster, making them far from being a championship-contending team. Their biggest issue is adding size to the roster, in my opinion. Draymond Green is no longer athletic enough to guard elite bigs like Victor Wembanyama or Giannis Antetokounmpo as a small-ball center.
If they fail to retain Kristaps Porzingis or Al Horford (player option, yet to opt-in), then adding size to the roster will become their priority. But if they do stay, then adding a 3-and-D wing to the team should be their next focus.
At the end of the day, it all depends on the quality of talent left among the pool of players when it comes to the Warriors’ chance to make their pick. It will be interesting to see who they eventually pick on both days of the 2026 NBA Draft.
