2021 NBA Draft Mock 2.0: The Warriors draft Scottie Barnes, reinvent the “death lineup”
The 6’9 “point guard” Scottie Barnes is one of the most fascinating players in the draft. While he’ll be lined up in the frontcourt with Golden State, he’s going to bring his point guard skills with him.
The Warriors don’t have a lot of depth. Barnes may start off playing a 6th-man type of role for this team that will give the team a nice facilitator for the 2nd unit. That’s just scratching the surface.
The team can get creative with their lineups, throwing in Draymond Green and Barnes together on the court with the splash brothers is a lineup that will leave opposing scratching their heads when creating a game plan.
Barnes draws frequent comparisons to Draymond Green because of his lockdown defense, tremendous strength, and facilitating.
The thing is, they have pretty different body types – Barnes isn’t as stocky as Green but is a few inches taller.
Even more captivating is the fact that Barnes is already built. His longer body strength and toned arms can look like you’re watching Kawhi Leonard or Giannis Antentounkmpo on the court. Oh, and Barnes hasn’t turned 20 yet.
NBA Draft – Scottie Barnes NBA player comparisons:
- Draymond Green
- Julius Randle rebounding/brute strength
- Tayshaun Prince
Barnes will instantly be a nightmare defender for opposing wing players. He has the strength and length to be regularly disruptive. He still needs to get a little lighter on his feet to be able to switch onto NBA point guards and reach the high expectations we’ve put on him as a possible Draymond-level defender, but it’s very much in the realm of possibility.
The facilitating is equally important. How many times did we see teams bring 3-4 defends on Stephen Curry, forcing other Warriors like Andrew Wiggins, Juan Toscano-Anderson, or Kent Bazemore to unsuccessfully put the ball on the ground and create something on their own?
By adding Barnes, they’re adding a player who can make those quick decisions with the ball – whether it’s executing a quick cross-court pass or attacking the rim.
Barnes has a very, very long way to go as a scorer. He’s not a good shooter, has some strange shooting mechanics, and doesn’t have a polished bag of moves in the post.
He can finish with contact and should be a nice new cutter option for Steph Curry’s offense.
The Golden State Warriors are starting their NBA Draft off with a player who can make life a lot easier for their stars.