Warriors Unearthed Will Richard, Post, TJD with This Draft Strategy

Will Richard dropped 30 points in his first career start on Wednesday, putting him in the mix for the "steal of the draft" label.

To put his performance in perspective, V.J. Edgecombe is the only other rookie to have scored 30 points in a game this season. Edgecombe was picked third overall. Richard was picked 56th overall.

Quinten Post (52nd pick in 2024) leads the team in net rating. Trayce Jackson-Davis (57th pick in 2023) finished 11th in All-Rookie voting for the 2023-24 season.

How are the Warriors finding these gems?

Players with 4-Plus Years of College Experience Are Undervalued

Richard (4), Post (5) and Jackson-Davis (4) played at least four years of college basketball, and all of them played at least three seasons of major-conference basketball.

Not surprisingly, they were all ready to contribute as rookies.

In the 2025 draft, only five players taken before Richard fit the criteria of four-plus years in college with three-plus years in a major conference. It's too early to say how they will fare, but don't be surprised if there are significant rookie year contributions from Johni Broome, Kam Jones, Micah Peavy, Maxime Raynaud and Brooks Barnhizer.

In the 2024 draft, six players that fit the criteria were taken before Post, and all have been valuable. Zach Edey brushed off "reach" proclamations by averaging 9.2 points and 8.3 rebounds per game after being selected ninth overall. Tristan Da Silva is having a great second season, and Terrence Shannon Jr., Tyler Kolek, Oso Ighodaro and Pelle Larsson are all in their teams' rotations.

And though Toumani Camara (52nd pick in 2023) doesn't quite fit the criteria (Camara played four years, but only two in a major conference), it's close enough to support the conclusion that older, battle-tested draft prospects are being undervalued.

Rewarding Second-Round Rookies with Standard Contracts and Playing Time

The Warriors could have waited to give Jackson-Davis and Richard standard contracts, but instead they gave them those deals before their first regular season started, showing a belief in them that was rewarded immediately.

Post started with a two-way contract, but less than a month after making his NBA debut, he was rewarded with a standard contract.

Perhaps it's more of a stroke of luck than stroke of genius that the Warriors had standard-contract roster spots available for these second-round rookies. For example, Brooks Barnhizer (44th pick in 2025) looked great in summer league but is on a two-way contract because the Thunder have a deep roster.

But what isn't lucky is that the Warriors used these picks on players who could help them immediately–TJD with his rim-running; Post and Richard with their shooting—instead of toolsier players with a higher ceiling and higher bust potential.