Ranking Warriors' Biggest Needs Before NBA Draft (And How to Fill Them)

General manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. had a moment of honesty when discussing the Golden State Warriors' 2026 draft plans on Wednesday.

"Frankly, we need everything," Dunleavy said.

Below I've ranked the Warriors' biggest needs going into the draft. They should look to fill one of these needs with the 11th pick and then use the free-agent and trade markets to fill the others.

3. Long-Term Starting Center

The Warriors are reportedly in talks to re-sign Kristaps Porzingis, and Al Horford seems to be leaning toward picking up his player option.

If both of those things happen, the Warriors won't have a major need to draft or sign a center who can play this season.

But Horford is likely to retire after the 2026-27 season, and Porzingis has shown over the last few years that he can't be relied on to be on the court consistently.

So the Warriors could prepare for that future by taking a center with the 11th pick.

What they could do: Draft Aday Mara, Hannes Steinbach or Morez Johnson Jr.
What they will do: Keep Porzingis, Horford and Quinten Post and address this issue next offseason

2. Wing with Enough Size to Guard 3s and 4s

After the injuries to Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody, you could tell me this is the Warriors' biggest need and I wouldn't bat an eye.

At the moment, Golden State has just two healthy players on the roster that can guard bigger wings: Gui Santos and Draymond Green.

Quality wings rarely make it to free agency these days, and the ones that do get paid more than the Warriors can offer them.

So Golden State has to consider addressing this issue in the draft, leaving its No. 1 issue for free agency.

Yaxel Lendeborg is the most obvious solution, as the 23-year-old has the size (6'8.75", 241 lbs) and skill to play immediately. I'd also consider Cameron Carr (6'4.5") a good option because he makes up for his average wing height (6'4.5") with a huge wingspan (7'0.75") and awesome athleticism (42.5" vertical).

Brayden Burries (6'3.75") is a little smaller than the Warriors would like, but we'll include him because he should be quality a 3-and-D wing.

What they could do: Draft Lendeborg, Carr or Burries
What they will do: Draft Lenbeborg, Carr or Burries

1. An Offensive Advantage Creator

The Warriors need someone who gives his team offensive advantages. That can come up in many ways.

It could be a guard whose handle is so good that he consistently beats his man off the dribble and forces defenses into compromising positions.

It could be a wing or a big who is so tall, strong and/or skilled that defenses feel like they have to shade coverage toward him to stop him.

The problem for the Warriors is the wings and bigs who create advantages are hard to find in free agency and tend to be selected early in drafts.

With that said, it's not that difficult to find guards who create advantages. But the advantage-creating guards who are available in free agency or at the No. 11 pick tend to be defensive liabilities.

For example, Labaron Philon Jr. has the handle and shooting ability to be an advantage creator. But he projects to get targeted on defense due to his size (6'2.5", 176 lbs). It's the same issue for free agent Anfernee Simons.

The best solution is to sign LeBron James or trade for Kawhi Leonard, but the Warriors can't offer James more than $15 million, and they also can't control whether Clippers governor Steve Ballmer will consider trading him at all or to a division rival.

So what's most likely is the Warriors use their mid-level exception on an advantage-creating guard who has defensive issues with the hope he has a Jordan Poole-like impact on offense.

What they could do: Sign James, Trade for Leonard or Draft Philon
What they will do: Sign Simons or Collin Sexton

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