Warriors assistant GM Lacob details the team’s NBA strategy originally appeared in NBC Sports Bay Area
With the 2024 NBA Draft approaching, all eyes will be on the Warriors and how they evaluate the upcoming class of prospects.
In an exclusive interview with Kron 4’s Jason Dumas, Golden State assistant general manager Kirk Lacob offered some insight into what the organization values when drafting prospects.
Lacob detailed the importance of the human element and got a good sense of the day-to-day personality of the prospects they are evaluating.
“How do they treat people behind the scenes? I always like to ask people who aren’t necessarily our talent evaluators, ‘What were they like?’ Lacob told Dumas. “That’s when they don’t really realize they’re being interviewed. They are not connected.”
Lacob then detailed to Dumas how film study became critical when evaluating an NBA prospect’s potential, an area where Brandin Podziemski shined before Golden State selected him 19th overall in the 2023 draft, per Dumas.
“How do they read the game? What are the types of things they notice and focus on? How were they taught? What are the things that are really ingrained in their brain to look at from a basketball perspective,” Lacob explained to Dumas.
“That’s really what we’re trying to get out of this. How hard does one work? How much do they want it?
After being selected in the first phase last season, Podziemski highlighted how much he liked it his pre-draft visit with the Warriors, having an immediate feeling that Golden State would be the right fit for him.
“I think I worked with them a few weeks ago and it was probably my best experience in the pre-draft process,” Podziemski said. “I felt like family during our interview with [Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr.] and to the rest of the team, it felt more like a conversation than an interrogation.
“I always thought it would be a perfect fit.”
Speaking of fit, how do Lacob and Golden State’s front office approach drafting based on need at a specific position compared to how well a candidate might fit into the team’s current roster?
“I don’t think it’s that black and white,” Lacob told Dumas. “There’s a level of talent that you’re always going to assume over everything else. But after that, this is where the levels come into effect. How well does a guy fit stylistically on your team? How well does a player fit into a schedule, both for you and the player?
“When do you need a player, but also when will that player be ready, given the opportunities he has with you? And these things can also change quickly. You can have a situation that is true today and tomorrow your team’s situation will be different . So you can’t get too hung up on one or the other.”
The Warriors will have to dig deep into the 2024 draft as they will likely be without their first-round pick due to a 2019 trade with the Memphis Grizzlies. The only way for Golden State to keep its first-round selection is to make the top four in Sunday’s NBA draft lottery.
However, the Warriors still own their second-round pick this year, which could be a vital asset after drafting Trayce Jackson-Davis at a similar range last season at 57th overall.
Whoever Golden State chooses, you can count on Lacob and company doing their due diligence as the Warriors look to add another young contributor to the team.
