The Golden State Warriors traded down in the 2025 NBA Draft, opting to make two second-round selections instead of landing a top prospect. They added Alex Toohey with the 52nd pick and NCAA Champion Will Richard with the 56th pick.
During their post-draft press conference, Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. laid out expectations for their incoming rookies. Dunleavy said that while he believed they were great additions, he didn’t think they would bring an immediate impact to the team.
“We think they fit our culture. They fit our program, and how we want to play. And we’re excited about it,” Dunleavy said. “I don’t expect these guys to have much of an impact as rookies. It’s hard to do that.”
Richard was Florida’s third-leading scorer en route to their championship-winning season. He averaged 13.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game on 48.7% shooting during their run. Toohey averaged 10.6 points, four rebounds, and 1.4 steals on 44.9% shooting in Australia’s NBL last season.
Warriors’ Expectations For Incoming Rookies
The Warriors traded their 41st pick to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for the right to pick Toohey and Richard. While Golden State has found value in the second round before, specifically in the form of Draymond Green, Dunleavy said that he doesn’t see their newest rookies as immediate contributors on a team with title hopes.
“We had a couple of players we were targeting from the get-go. Trading back, we were fortunate enough to get them,” Dunleavy said. “Will’s older. He played on a national championship team. So maybe he’s got a little bit of a shot…Alex’s played against pros in Australia, so sure, maybe these guys have a chance but don’t want to bank on it. I think our roster will be good anyway. But we don’t think these guys are years away.”
Golden State also made the trade deadline move to add Jimmy Butler from the Miami Heat in exchange for Andrew Wiggins. The Warriors were hoping to make a deep playoff run this season, but they were cut short after Stephen Curry missed most of their second-round series against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
As it stands now, the Warriors are in win-now mode and don’t have high expectations for their incoming rookies. Dunleavy said that they are likely to play with their G-League affiliate next season as more long-term projects rather than pieces to add to their current roster.
After the draft, Golden State also signed Chance McMillian from Texas Tech. The senior guard averaged 14.2 points and four rebounds on 52.3% shooting with the Red Raiders last season.
Kuminga Could Be On The Move This Offseason
Even with the draft day trade, Dunleavy said that the Warriors expect to make more moves in the offseason in hopes of continuing to build a championship contender.
That could start with trading Jonathan Kuminga, who is a restricted free agent this summer and expressed interest in a larger role on a team outside of Golden State. During the same press conference, Dunleavy said that he would like to ‘figure something out’ in terms of either keeping the 22-year-old or trading him to land another star.
“We’re working through it,” Dunleavy said. “For both sides, we’d like to figure something out as soon as possible. That’s the way it goes sometimes with restricted free agency. I’m not going to stress out about it too much. The main thing is making the right decisions, figuring the whole thing out—whether that is Day 1 or Day 10.”
Golden State has a history of making huge moves over the offseason, and it looks like that could be the case this summer. After a disappointing second-round exit in the playoffs, Dunleavy believes that they will come back stronger in 2025-26, even if that means a diminished role for their latest draft picks.
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