Golden State Warriors select Daniel Gafford in latest FanSided 2019 NBA Mock Draft

FanSided’s latest mock 2019 NBA Draft has the Golden State Warriors selecting Arkansas power forward/center Daniel Gafford with their No. 28 overall pick.

The Golden State Warriors 2018-19 season didn’t exactly end the way that most would have hoped. But the 2019 NBA Draft represents a beacon of hope in a trying time for the organization.

Following their 2019 NBA Finals defeat in six games at the hands of the Toronto Raptors, the Warriors soon learned that star shooting guard Klay Thompson could be forced to miss all of next season after tearing his ACL.

This came just days after they learned that superstar forward Kevin Durant would likely miss all of next year as well after suffering a torn Achilles.

It’s safe to say that it’s been a difficult couple of weeks for the Warriors.

But there’s no time to sulk with the NBA offseason quickly approaching on the horizon. And the first stop runs through New York this Thursday with the 2019 NBA Draft.

This is a Warriors team that knows a thing or two about building through the draft. The original core of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green were all acquired via the draft so the Warriors have certainly had their fair share of success in the draft as of late.

Golden State will be looking for that same level of success when they take the stand to announce their selection this Thursday.

There isn’t a clear-cut player that they’re expected to select and given their draft position, the best case scenario is simply for this player to become a reliable rotational player at least in the short-term. But that doesn’t mean that they can’t still find some value.

While there have been a handful of different players mocked to the Warriors at pick No. 28, FanSided’s recent mock draft has the team selecting Arkansas big man Daniel Gafford with their first-round selection.

Gafford has the skillset of a classic modern-day center with his great blend of size and athleticism. He’s most effective in the pick-and-roll game when he could be asked to be a screen-setter and rim-runner.

But perhaps his most endearing trait is his defensive game. Gafford is an excellent rim protector using his massive 7-foot-2 wingspan to swat away would-be makes at a very high rate. The big man averaged at least two blocks per game in each of his two seasons at Arkansas.

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However, Gafford still needs some refinement before he could be considered NBA-ready. He struggles with a lot of the things that young big-men struggle with including turnovers, getting into foul trouble, and shooting.

Many big-men tend to develop an outside shot as they gain more experience in the NBA and get more comfortable shooting the ball. On top of that, some years of experience could do wonders for his basketball IQ as he’s often caught out of position on defense.

Still, this is a pick that would make a ton of sense for the Warriors.

With the status of DeMarcus Cousins uncertain for next season, the Warriors are in need of some added depth when it comes to their big men. If all went according to plan, Gafford would be able to step in and immediately be a part of a rotation featuring the likes of Kevon Looney, Jordan Bell, and whoever else the team decided to bring in/back.

Not to mention that Looney will also need to be re-signed this offseason as well.

It could be difficult to find an instant-impact player late in the first round, but Gafford could be just the player to provide some much-needed depth to a Warriors bench that isn’t as deep as it used to be.

We’ll have to see how the draft goes down come Thursday, but Gafford is a player that makes plenty of sense for the Warriors.