The Warriors will enter the NBA draft to add more next-generation talent to the winning greats

One of the most intriguing stories of last year was Warriors’ attempt to do one of the hardest things in sports: win now and develop into the future.

Task 1 succeeded wildly. Task 2? It remains to be seen.

“It was ambitious from the start,” said head coach Steve Kerr. “I think I used the term ‘needle threading.’ And that’s the feeling.”

Last summer, the Warriors resisted the desire to replace the young with an experienced player who would help the team win now. He resisted the request to add a big man because the injured James Wiseman could not contribute. They wanted to see their older players together. They wanted to see their young people develop. They wanted to do both at once.

Now, in Thursday’s draft, the Warriors are trying to add another player to their promising young core. The contribution of the youth brigade to the championship ranged from zero to huge. The fact that the Warriors were able to win the title and rise from the worst team of 2020 to the best of 2022 without betting zero on this awful season award – Wiseman, overall No. 2 – is amazing.

They got a huge bang from Jordan Pool, who was 28th in the draft three years ago. They received significant minutes during the play-off from both Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody, who are seventh and 14th overall overall a year ago. According to Elias Sports Office, they are the first teammates to be selected in the lottery from the newcomers to play in the NBA Finals and the youngest pair of teammates to win the championship.

Although Kuminga and Moody played sparingly in the final against Boston, they made significant contributions in the offseason. And their learning curve – along with Wiseman’s – actually exceeded their time on the field.

“The experience is invaluable,” said CEO Bob Myers. “Just to see how hard it is, how long it is, what it takes to focus.… They had to see and experience it. When they come back, there is hope that when they come back, they will understand what this is necessary.

Kerr noted that he often sees young NBA players in the grandstands at the finals, perhaps with a coach, “just trying to soak up the atmosphere.”

For Warriors’ youth, the experience was “10 times,” Kerr said.

“You’re in every meeting, you sit there, sometimes you get to the games. All this during a two-month trip. That’s what makes it so hard to win an NBA championship. It’s two months of preparation for four different teams

Kuminga, Moody and Wiseman will soon have the opportunity to show something they have learned together in the Summer League.

The young Warriors were able to look at the older players, who were mostly babies at the start of the race, and see how they did the most.

“Looking at this group of veterans,” Myers said. “How they went through it. It’s an advantage to manage the men who did it.

30-year-olds are very aware of their effects. It was seen throughout the play-offs when they bowed down and said something to the younger players on the bench, joked with them in practice, made fun of them when they came out of the court.

Andre Iguodala aired an anecdote on Draymond Green’s podcast a few hours after the team eliminated Boston. He talked about the point in Game 5 after Kevon Looney had a quick error when assistant coach Mike Brown told Iguodala he was going into the game for a minute.

Iguodala, the final MVP and the most experienced player on the list, described his way of thinking.