Golden State Warriors: No. 28
The Golden State Warriors are potentially tracking towards their third consecutive NBA championship and their fourth in five years. It’s the best year-to-year run since the Los Angeles Lakers won from 2000-02, but with Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green as the groundwork, they have been able to add quality players around them to sustain success.
The New York Knicks might take Kevin Durant in free agency, but they can work with the Warriors to send Ntilikina for this No. 28 pick.
Golden State has prided itself on long, versatile players over the past five years. Everyone from Andre Iguodala to Alfonso McKinnie, talents to play across the lineup are all over the place.
Ntilikina does not have the three-point shooting these players have, but head coach Steve Kerr can use him as a defensive weapon off the bench, especially when Thompson sits and Curry — a lackluster defender — plays. This is basically a supplemental player who finds 10 to 15 minutes per game — a well-defined role guy — to impact the game.
The Warriors can take two years of team control for Ntilikina, too, although he will make over $4 million per season. That might be too much with salaries rising for Curry, a new deal for Thompson and Green’s sizeable figure on the payroll.