Buying or Selling Latest Mock Draft Predictions for Warriors' 1st-Round Pick

in the last two days, ESPN's Jeremy Woo, CBS Sports' Adam Finkelstein and Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman have published 2026 mock drafts.

Each writer has the Warriors taking a different player.

Let's break down who they have going to the Warriors and buy or sell the selections.

Woo's Pick

13. Braylon Mullins, SG, UConn

Mullins is having a quality freshman season, averaging 12.0 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.3 assists. The 6'6" guard is shooting 44.0 percent from the field and 36.4 percent from three.

He needs to bulk up for the NBA, but so do many freshmen.

Mullins' freshman season is similar to Klay Thompson's freshman year at Washington State. Thompson averaged 12.5 points on 42.1 percent from the field and 41.2 percent from three.

Thompson declared for the draft after his third season, and the Warriors took him No. 11 overall. That worked out quite nicely.

Mullins should be a good shooter at the NBA level, but his form isn't as pure as Thompson's. The Warriors shouldn't focus too much on need with this pick, but it's fair to say an off-ball guard without great size or ball-handling ability is the last thing they need right now. Moses Moody, Will Richard and Brandin Podziemski have the off-ball shooter role filled right now.

It wouldn't be a bad pick, but it's not what the Warriors should do.

Verdict: Sell

Finkelstein's Pick

15. Yaxel Lendeborg, PF, Michigan

Lendeborg is already 23, which is why he could fall to the teens despite being No. 2 in the nation in Box Plus/Minus.

His age doesn't bother me much. In some ways, I like that he's older, as he'll likely be able to contribute immediately for a team that needs it.

Sure, it's fair to say he probably doesn't have the ceiling of other prospects projected to be taken in the mid-first round, but if he ends up being someone who can shoot, pass and defend at 6'9", he'll be plenty valuable.

Lendeborg has shown he can do all those things, though the biggest question mark is his three-point shot, as he's at just 34.3 percent this season.

Eventually, the Warriors need to find a draft pick with star potential, but it's OK if they focus on winning now with their 2026 pick.

Verdict: Buy

Wasserman's Pick

15. Nate Ament, SF, Tennessee

If the Warriors are on the clock and Ament and Lendeborg are both available, it will be fascinating to see who they take.

Ament has much more scoring potential than Lendeborg. The 6'10" wing is having a typical freshman season for a hyped prospect, as he's scoring 17.4 points per game but struggling with efficiency (41.4 percent from the field and 32.8 percent from three).

Drafting Ament would be the beginning of a new "two-timelines" approach, and now that idea makes much more sense than it did in the early 2020s. He's probably too raw to help the Warriors during the 2026-27 season, but his potential is worth betting on for Golden State's future.

Verdict: Buy