Warriors Rumors Give Major Hint on Position They Don’t Want in Draft

The Golden State Warriors have several needs entering the 2026 NBA draft, and they can’t fill them all with the No. 11 pick.

But it would make sense that they attempt to fill one of their two biggest needs with their first lottery pick since 2021.

I’ve speculated that their two biggest needs are a wing—preferably with positional size—and a ball-handling guard who can take some of the playmaking load off Stephen Curry’s hands.

But recent rumors suggest the Warriors are prioritizing bigs instead of playmaking guards.

In his latest big board, ClutchPoints’ Brett Siegel reported that the Warriors have interest in wings Yaxel Lendeborg, Brayden Burries, Cameron Carr and Nate Ament as well as bigs Aday Mara, Hannes Steinbach and Morez Johnson Jr.

The Warriors also worked out power forward Chric Cenac Jr. on Monday.

Interestingly, Siegel didn’t mention the Warriors as a suitor for Labaron Philon Jr., who is widely considered the best guard prospect after the group of projected top-10 guards including Keaton Wagler, Darius Acuff Jr., Mikel Brown Jr. and Kingston Flemings. In fact, Siegel didn’t mention the Warriors as a target for any point guard in his big board.

What Warriors’ Interest in Draft’s Bigs Says About Free Agency

If the Warriors take a center prospect, it doesn’t necessarily mean they think they will lose Kristaps Porzingis or Al Horford in free agency.

Porzingis is an unrestricted free agent, but the Warriors are the favorites to re-sign him because they have his Bird rights.

Horford has a player option for $6 million. At 40 years old, he’s likely to play for just one more season at most.

The Warriors are signaling that they feel center is a big need, which makes sense considering Porzingis’ injury/illness history and Horford’s age.

But if they get those two back, it would not be their biggest short-term need.

What Warriors’ Lack of Rumored Interest in Draft’s Point Guards Says About Free Agency

I have no doubt that the Warriors believe they need a big upgrade at backup point guard.

But their rumored interest in Anfernee Simons and Collin Sexton suggests they will look to fill this need with their mid-level exception.

My guess is if they don’t get LeBron James with the MLE, they will target point guards with it.

This free-agent class doesn’t have much wing depth, and the good ones will likely go for more than the MLE. But there are quality point guards. Two other options are Coby White and Collin Gillespie.

Warriors’ Draft Dilemma

In a perfect world, the Warriors would get a two-way wing with size who can help fill the void with Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody injured.

That’s why Lendeborg, Burries, Carr and Ament are the likeliest picks at No. 11.

But all four of those prospects have traits keeping them from obvious top-11 pick potential.

None of them are advanced creators.

Lendeborg seems like the most complete prospect, but at 23 years old, there are questions about his ceiling.

At just 6’3.75″ without elite length or athleticism, Burries might never be a high-end wing defender.

Carr has the length and athleticism for defensive impact, but he underwhelmed on that end in college.

Ament doesn’t have the explosiveness to get to the rim consistently, so he often settles for difficult twos.

Meanwhile, the Warriors might think Mara, Steinbach and/or Johnson are better prospects than the wings.

But it might be very close. So they’ll have to decide, do they take a wing they have slightly lower-rated to fill a need, or do they take a big using the best-player-available logic?

We’ll find out on June 23.