Mike Dunleavy Recaps Golden State Warriors 2025 Draft

Mike Dunleavy Recaps Golden State Warriors 2025 Draft

good uh good second night of the draft for us um after not obviously being involved first night to to come back night two and uh we had a couple players we were targeting from the get-go and you know traded back and we’re fortunate fortunate enough to get them so we’re excited uh two guys and Alex Tui and Will Richard uh bring it in and we think they fit our they fit our culture they fit our program they fit how we want to play and uh yeah we’re excited about it when did you get the sense that you wanted to move out of 41 you know to be honest probably a week or so ago just looking at the board and seeing where things are at and how we value the players it’s just one of those drafts I think with the NIL stuff it was a we felt like it was a little weak in the middle where we were drafting and so we could get some pretty good value by moving back and stuff’s hard to do ahead of time you kind of have to wait till today or on the clock and we were able to get something done before the draft and we felt good about the players being there and um got a little hairy but we we moved around a little bit and got back up to where we needed to do get back up to and and got will and um yeah I think it was from our from our standpoint the way we started the day and the way we finished is uh we’re very pleased mike would be to roster roster both or one and how we Yeah I think it’s going to be dependent on free agency obviously we have the option to do both um you know and and that’ll depend how free agency plays out and how we use our money and all that but uh we think both of them are are highly you know very deserving of roster spots these guys you know are good players and you know have a chance and and we’ll put them in the development program and it could be some time in Santa Cruz you know it could be some NBA minutes we’ll see how it unfolds but um you know we’re pretty optimistic about these guys being good players yeah I can ask what you’re going to do with them i mean how how valuable is potentially having two very cheap yeah I mean with our salary structure that type of stuff is important um you know that’s come through with guys like E Santos and Trace and Quentyn so getting more of these players matters probably a little bit more for us than other teams and um doesn’t mean they can definitely play but just to have that optionality is good are you of the belie that You kind of said it a little bit there but like let’s say they had to get in a rotation you know at some point next year you feel you got two guys that are relatively ready i mean it’s hard i mean I’m willing to be wrong on this um last few years I’ve said it you know I don’t expect these guys to have much of an impact as rookies it’s it’s hard to do that will’s older played on a national championship team um and so maybe maybe he’s got a little bit of a shot i mean Alex has played against pros in Australia so sure maybe these guys have a chance but don’t want to bank on it i mean I think our roster will be good and deep anyway but um you know we don’t think these guys are like you know years away put it like that you look at positionally I know it’s still early but to like a four or is he a big three yeah I think he’s like a forward you know and I think with our system and the way we play with you know he has the versatility to play multiple positions it’s who can you guard and where you can play offensively and we think especially on the defensive end he’s super versatile and um you know creates a lot of plays which is important for our defense where you know it’s for us defensively with Draymond and Jimmy and Pods and guys they can kind of disrupt that’s this guy fits in that mold and so um yeah I think he’s a front court player Richard two yeah I mean I would say a wing um you know Will’s uh can shoot the ball we see him as a two-way player you know shoot it defend it Um I think he’s good pretty good on ball defender very good offball defender and he’s got good length and um he’s coming from a really good program and system where you know well coached well taught and um you know many years in college so um you know this is a guy that it’s it’s knows how to play clearly you had some fear he might you know go before 59 um how important was it for you to kind of jump up and hit him yeah I mean um we had both these guys really high on our board so we wanted to get both of them with with what we did by moving back and uh yeah I mean look we had a contingency plan if if he went if either one of them went we had other other ways to go but this is our our much preferred route and we’re able to do it and had to pivot there a little bit but you know I think it was worth it did both these guys come in for pre-draft workouts i don’t think they’re on any of the lists yeah they did they were both in um Alex was in a little bit further like back maybe a month or so ago and and and Will was in this month more recently and so got to spend time with both both guys um you know they’re on the court working out against other players in the film room those types of things so you know did did all the intel and research on them talking you know to their coaches and and and and people that know knew them um so we feel pretty good about who they are as as players as well as people and um yeah it’s good i think you feel better about a pick when you’ve had the guy in the building um spent some time with him you know it’s kind of like a job interview knowing knowing who you’re bringing aboard so we feel good about that so when you trade down was Ty kind of guy you’re looking at to get him at 52 when you move down i think it was it was the thought moving back was both of them however which way it would happen um you know whether one was at 52 one was at 59 vice versa yeah we had to move back up from 59 to 56 to get it but um you know we value both of them and and the thought behind getting two picks in this draft later on was to get both players mike what’s the intel gathering process like for a guy like two you know spent two years in the NFL yeah well we’ve got guys that get you know we get eyes on them go down there um long trip but fun one and uh for those of us that travel um I didn’t I didn’t get down there this year but our scouts do and um yeah we check these guys out we evaluate them in person in games as well as you know do the background research on them and and and get want to get a feel for who they are where they come from family stuff all that so yeah it’s a little bit um little bit longer of a trip to figure that out but we make it happen talk to Bogen about um actually good question no I I actually haven’t talked to him specifically but I I know some people in our group have and I know he’s know he’s a big fan you guys Armstrong out of Australia on two way last year where have you seen like the NBL Australia really rise of the basketball ranks nationally recently yeah it’s a good league i mean you go down there um obviously you’ve seen guys like B in ball picks go out of there it’s it’s a mature league you get you get physical adult play in that league so you feel like if a young player can play in that league a lot of things are going to translate to the NBA and um I feel like that league is getting more and more reputable and better and it’s a good place to pull players from what can you maybe say about Alex’s feel for the game seems like that’s what everyone’s talking about that he knows how to play high IQ basketball yeah I mean I think he’s just a really coachable player um knows like you said knows how to play on both ends uh you see that in his block and steal numbers and then offensively you see it the way he moves he cuts he’s really good in transition um just does a lot of things and we tend to feel like players that can do a lot of things in this league on both ends of the ball end up being successful making it uh it’s few you know Sunday’s coming up quick um do you feel like there’s been any traction in the Kinga situation yeah I mean we’re working through it um you know we’ve got some players that are all bunch of free agents um qualifying offers and all those things to come about we got to figure that out but um yeah that’s kind of the next order of business here after the draft we turn to free agency and and you know some of that team building stuff so it’ll um yeah it’s coming up if if the Kaigga situ situation was to drag into July um how how concerning is that for you from just you know building out the roster yeah I mean look I think for both sides we’d like to get something figured out as soon as possible but you know that’s the way it goes i think sometimes restricted free agency so um you know not going to stress out about it too much but I think the main thing is making the right decisions figuring the whole thing out uh whether that’s you know day one or or day 10 or whatever it is so got to be prepared to you know take it as far as it goes but yeah the priority I I would think for both sides is to get something done early how much is his desire to come back or or not to come back going to play into you know beyond just the the you know the negotiations money and years-wise just his desire to be here well yeah it’s important i mean I think from his end ultimately he’s the one as a free agent that has to sign the contract so by him doing that if that happens with us that’s reflective I think of his desire to be here and you know we’ll we’ll see as they say like you said the two picks you sort of indicated that they have an maybe an outside chance to play as rookies what’s it like to draft though knowing that you don’t have you’re not going to draft guys that you have to worry about plugging in immediately as opposed to guys that teams that are drafting hoping to get someone who can give them something right away yeah I mean I think we’re at a little bit different um space than some of these other teams younger teams they’re looking to just put guys out on the court we don’t have to do that and in some ways it’s good it’s it’s less pressure on these players to come out and have to perform right away at the NBA level it’s an it’s an adjustment for all these guys so to give them some time to adjust if if it’s needed whether that’s in Santa Cruz or you know minutes later in the season in the NBA like to allow for that which we’ve done with some of these guys in the past has has really helped and um we’ll probably look at that path again and what does it mean for the significance of the free agent market for you guys yeah I don’t think the draft changes much for us there i mean you know we add these guys into the roster however we do it but um I think we’ll be looking to make the most you know shift our roster the most in free agency more so than the draft the draft is just tough because it’s all improving right and so you don’t want to rely too much on that you turn to free agency trades of known commodities in the NBA to make to make our team better for next year cool all right thank you awesome thanks guys appreciate

Mike Dunleavy met with the media to discuss the Golden State Warriors’ selections of Alex Toohey and Will Richard.