Mike Dunleavy sizes up OKC Thunder, explains draft philosophy as Warriors enter NBA offseason

SAN FRANCISCO Mike Dunleavy while in the thick of his third offseason as the Warriors general manager scrupulously watched Oklahoma City defeat Indiana in a classic seven-game championship series on Sunday The stars who hoisted the Larry O Brien Trophy that Dunleavy s Warriors are pursuing were fresh-faced with -year-old Shai Gilgeous-Alexander flanked by Jalen Williams Chet Holmgren and a host of other Gen Z players Meanwhile the Warriors are set to bring back the decorated but concretely millennial trio of Steph Curry Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green At a press conference on Monday at Chase Center Dunleavy revealed that finding a way for his aging association of late- somethings to compete with OKC s youthful roster of newly-crowned champs is a top priority and that he is confident his band s grizzled core can do just that I think you ve got to run your own race Dunleavy explained In our incident we ve got three players in their s that are really good and that s the hand we re playing While OKC has become a juggernaut Dunleavy commented history shows that it s not easy to stay at the top They ll be the unit that we ve got to knock off for sure Dunleavy noted The good news is though there s been an incredible amount of parity the last six seven years multiple different champions multiple different finalists With the NBA Draft starting on Wednesday a decision yet to be made on the enigmatic Jonathan Kuminga and a salary cap to be navigated the Warriors will have several chances to make moves Golden State Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy leaves a press conference after addressing the media at the Chase Center in San Francisco Calif on Monday June The NBA draft will be on Wednesday Jane Tyska Bay Area News Group Barring a bargain back into the first round they won t have a pick until Round No overall on Thursday night Though second-round picks are often considered afterthoughts Dunleavy announced his club will not approach Thursday with that mindset The Warriors have scooped up rotation front-court players Quinten Post and Trayce Jackson-Davis in each of the past two second rounds and Green was the th pick in That commented Dunleavy made it clear that finding an immediate contributor late in the draft is still a long shot I also think you have to be mindful just in general when you re picking in the second round and the later you go you re almost just trying to pick somebody that s going to make it so you have to be a little careful about being too particular Dunleavy disclosed The Thunder were not the only squad that caught Dunleavy s eye over the past week He watched other teams orchestrate headline-making trades The Grizzlies shipped high-scoring wing Desmond Bane to Orlando for two starting guards and four first-round draft picks and Houston sent Warriors nemesis Dillon Brooks and NorCal native Jalen Green plus a lottery pick for Kevin Durant Is there pressure for Golden State to make a similar blockbuster Not necessarily Related Articles Kevin Durant being sent from Suns to Rockets in a blockbuster transaction AP source says Caitlin Clark explains why she idolizes Warriors superstar Steph Curry Lainn Wilson named Santa Cruz Warriors head coach for - Will Warriors find gold with No pick in NBA draft History says maybe Steve Kerr s son joins his Warriors staff from G League It s just almost impossible for us to add players in the salary range of guys we were looking at last summer since we ve added Jimmy Dunleavy reported That would be the only limiter But in terms of finding talent improving this company we re going to look under every rock to try and do that There is no arguing that the Warriors proved that their current core can be formidable They were one of the NBA s hottest teams after the Butler deal and eliminated second-seeded Houston in seven games before falling - to Minnesota after Steph Curry was lost to a hamstring injury in Match Pushing past the second round will hinge on building a stronger supporting cast around Curry and the other veterans and that will start with the draft I feel really good about our roster Dunleavy reported If you look at guys to to that s part of having depth I think we can get better in the middle I think we can get better and add various depth there and then we re really talking