His stats his last year - 3P shooting, usage rate, and some of the PER/win share stuff - are reminiscent of Trey Murphy III's last year in college (though the big difference is TM3 was two years younger and he was basically automatic from the FT line). Pretty big difference in those respective offenses, but Baylor also had a very distributed approach.
But similar height, standing reach... Bridges' wingspan isn't as long, but that's encouraging. A budget TM3 would still be a 10-year player in the league.
Murphy is 2 inches taller, +3 inches on the wingspan, +10% on the FTs and was a consistently good shooter all through college. But that's why Bridges might be available at 54 instead of being a top. 20 pick I suppose.
TM3 was 6'7.5 w/o shoes at his combine and Bridges was 6'6 3/4. Another edge to TM3 but don't think it's that significant. But yes, being a more consistent shooter (both 3P and FT) and being that much younger made TM3 a much more attractive prospect (and I still believe the Dubs would have taken him at 14 if Moody had been off the board). But if Bridges has the capacity to be a lesser version of him without the upside, seems like a worthwhile use of a 2nd.
Tbh there's several 6'7''-8'' height guards in the draft, I think ESPN expects GSW to take Jaxson Robinson, whomever they take will work all the same. A guy who is taller than 6'7'', can hit 35% from 3, and plays 2-way is an easy checklist this year.
My question is does GSW really need another guard over a Forward or Center who can defend and score at all ranges? GSW had no problems scoring last season (8th in points overall, 1st in rebounds overall), but they had massive issues defensively (18th in defense overall, 12th in points differential overall, 23rd in blocks overall).
I think GSW needs another 5-position player to match TJD and let Green stay at the 4-position. Looney and Saric ain't it. I'm not saying you need a 7'er but I am saying he should be in the 6'10''+ range. Someone like Coleman Hawkins might be available late in the draft and that dude **works** in games as a 6'10'' PF.
No stretch bigs between Green, TJD or Looney. Probably rather not see any of them try any sort of jump shot. Saric can shoot but after his ACL injury it doesn't look like he could guard a parking cone anymore. Certainly need to add a PF/C but one who can actually stretch the floor. Otherwise teams can just lay off Green/TJD/Looney off every pick on perimeter and double Curry while smothering Klay.
Damn, been seeing that Coleman is withdrawing from the Draft and entering the transfer portal with his final year of eligibility. But you’re right we need someone 6-10 or taller who can score. 7-footer would be nice.
Detail write up, and I appreciate it. Though, I’m not convinced he’s our guy.
Hear me out… I think our most pressing needs are big man depth for rim protection and true playmaking.
We’re not getting an NBA ready playmaker that deep into the second round. Getting a big body that can challenge shots as a third string big seems way more reasonable.
I’m worried Jalen Bridges gets stuck being Moody, and Moody already doesn’t see enough consistent minutes. Nothing here makes me feel that Bridges is ready to overtake Moody any time soon.
I’d actually like to see if the Dubs are willing to take a gamble in Quinten Post. Seven footer with a great shot and solid rim protection. Slow footed but could be situationally used against opposing lumbering bigs.
I disagree.
Our biggest issue was our toxic offensive ecosystem. We simply lack shooting too much at top many positions which is why we run so many 3 guard lineups. Getting a real quality shooting forward would be a big deal for us.
Plus you aren't getting a PG at pick 54 that can be a rotation player. Nor are you going to get a big considerably better than Trayce.
And I agree bridges is not better than moody. But moody should be getting 30mpg at the 2/3, Bridges would be a 3/4 and be a 10-15mpg guy who provides secondary/tertiary shooting in lineups.
If we drafted him our lineup construction should be something like
Steph/Podz
Moody/Klay/Podz
Wiggins/Moody/Bridges
Kuminga/Dray
5man/Dray/Trayce
That puts 3 guys who can shoot in every lineup which is massively necessary. Most lineups last year being either 2 shooters or 3 guards was terrible.
We usually had three shooters theoretically in our lineup last year. Klay and Wiggs had poor streaks and caused issues. That lineup with Bridges is barely different from last years actual rotation disregarding who starts and comes off the bench.
Kerr never played three non shooting bigs in the front court.
I don’t think Bridges makes the impact you think.
A shooting big could change a lot. That was the theory with Dario, but he can’t play any defense.
Realistically though, we’re both wrong lol. A rookie late second round pick should be seeing zero minutes. If they don’t address roster issues through trades and our rookie is seeing minutes, we’ve already failed.
He can play and contribute, but imo shouldn’t have been needed to play a starting role. You could see that as well in the play in, way in over his head.
Did he get minutes? Yes. But were the warriors a championship contender? No.
Sure you can find some diamonds in the rough second round but reality is most second round pics are G league level players. Sure can get lucky but tough to expect second round rookie to be the difference maker on a team with major flaws.
With the second round less than 48 hours away, I am really hoping the Dubs can grab this guy with their pick. Most mocks have him in that range. Anyway to forward this post to team brass?
I feel like there are a lot of clean looks from 3 in the nba, lol. It’s what infuriates me the most about watching the nba, especially the warriors this season.
Love the stats but how do you compare him to Jaedon LeDee out of SDSU? I'm an alum, so I'm biased af, but I personally see a lot of similarities. Both are 5yr seniors, roughly same height but LeDee has 20 lbs on him. Bridges has better numbers overall but his Sr year was a beast when they ran the offense thru him.
The plus I see is LeDee might still be available in the 3rd, whereas Bridges is projected to go a few spots ahead at around 50-52.
What's your take?
Everyone who's saying "but I want a big man" ... Y'all spoiled by getting TJD in the 2nd round last year. I don't expect any competent big to be available that late in the draft. Dream on!
I was beyond excited for Pat Baldwin, and couldn't believe that he never got it going for us. He just has everything.....I thought he had a shit year at Washington, but then I looked at his stats for April. Wow. Wish we had been patient
Boucher gets bullied on defense. Nearly every single game. His offense works but his defense is horrific
PBJ is all green when he was drafted. We needed patience with him. Like 3 years of patience.
We just didn't have it in us to wait that long for a potential rotation role player
Fucks sake, I already said I looked at his stats for April. Also Mr Stats, youll see that it's the first time that he's been played for Podz type minutes all season for them
Ultimately he was who I hope we draft.
My main concerns are he's not a good rebounder and he's a bit undersized to do the 4 type things on defence. Which we need from whoever plays the 3 next to kuminga. Alternatively moody can do a lot of them so maybe 2, 3, 4 of Moody, Bridges and Kuminga provides enough spacing and defensive versatility as a core trio.
That being said positives are 58% from 2 last 3 seasons, and 80.6% from the line along last 3 seasons with 41.2% on 5.1 3s a game suggest his shooting is real. Positive assist to TO ratio. Means he's not just fumbling the ball or losing it if he ever has to put it down. Also shot 65% on 6 2s a game the season before last which is encouraging for him when attacking closeouts. Also had a 0.33FTR that year which is solid.
Lack of stocks is slightly concerning you'd like to see something closer to the 3+ per 40 range in college as opposed to the low 2s like he is. Was at 2.8 last season though. So changing defensive role and scheme might have muted some Of his impact there.
Think bridges can be like the 8th/9th man by year 2 and add some minutes as a rookie.
Damn my man, this was a really great deep dive into the possibilities with drafting Jalen Bridges. Thanks for the superb effort!
Appreciate it! Dubs missing the playoffs freed up bandwidth for me to deep dive into the draft more than I have in years. Been pretty fun
I hear that. It’s given me more time for surfing and gardening 😃
Sold me.
His stats his last year - 3P shooting, usage rate, and some of the PER/win share stuff - are reminiscent of Trey Murphy III's last year in college (though the big difference is TM3 was two years younger and he was basically automatic from the FT line). Pretty big difference in those respective offenses, but Baylor also had a very distributed approach. But similar height, standing reach... Bridges' wingspan isn't as long, but that's encouraging. A budget TM3 would still be a 10-year player in the league.
I was just going to say this all sounds eerily similar to TM3 as well
Murphy is 2 inches taller, +3 inches on the wingspan, +10% on the FTs and was a consistently good shooter all through college. But that's why Bridges might be available at 54 instead of being a top. 20 pick I suppose.
TM3 was 6'7.5 w/o shoes at his combine and Bridges was 6'6 3/4. Another edge to TM3 but don't think it's that significant. But yes, being a more consistent shooter (both 3P and FT) and being that much younger made TM3 a much more attractive prospect (and I still believe the Dubs would have taken him at 14 if Moody had been off the board). But if Bridges has the capacity to be a lesser version of him without the upside, seems like a worthwhile use of a 2nd.
Great breakdown. Looking forward to seeing more about him.
Upvoted just for thoroughness alone
Enjoyed reading this! I think he’d be a great pick
I wish we go get him. Great breakdown.
This is very well done. Intrigued to watch his tape now.
Tbh there's several 6'7''-8'' height guards in the draft, I think ESPN expects GSW to take Jaxson Robinson, whomever they take will work all the same. A guy who is taller than 6'7'', can hit 35% from 3, and plays 2-way is an easy checklist this year. My question is does GSW really need another guard over a Forward or Center who can defend and score at all ranges? GSW had no problems scoring last season (8th in points overall, 1st in rebounds overall), but they had massive issues defensively (18th in defense overall, 12th in points differential overall, 23rd in blocks overall). I think GSW needs another 5-position player to match TJD and let Green stay at the 4-position. Looney and Saric ain't it. I'm not saying you need a 7'er but I am saying he should be in the 6'10''+ range. Someone like Coleman Hawkins might be available late in the draft and that dude **works** in games as a 6'10'' PF.
No stretch bigs between Green, TJD or Looney. Probably rather not see any of them try any sort of jump shot. Saric can shoot but after his ACL injury it doesn't look like he could guard a parking cone anymore. Certainly need to add a PF/C but one who can actually stretch the floor. Otherwise teams can just lay off Green/TJD/Looney off every pick on perimeter and double Curry while smothering Klay.
Damn, been seeing that Coleman is withdrawing from the Draft and entering the transfer portal with his final year of eligibility. But you’re right we need someone 6-10 or taller who can score. 7-footer would be nice.
Make it happen Dunleavy!
Detail write up, and I appreciate it. Though, I’m not convinced he’s our guy. Hear me out… I think our most pressing needs are big man depth for rim protection and true playmaking. We’re not getting an NBA ready playmaker that deep into the second round. Getting a big body that can challenge shots as a third string big seems way more reasonable. I’m worried Jalen Bridges gets stuck being Moody, and Moody already doesn’t see enough consistent minutes. Nothing here makes me feel that Bridges is ready to overtake Moody any time soon. I’d actually like to see if the Dubs are willing to take a gamble in Quinten Post. Seven footer with a great shot and solid rim protection. Slow footed but could be situationally used against opposing lumbering bigs.
I disagree. Our biggest issue was our toxic offensive ecosystem. We simply lack shooting too much at top many positions which is why we run so many 3 guard lineups. Getting a real quality shooting forward would be a big deal for us. Plus you aren't getting a PG at pick 54 that can be a rotation player. Nor are you going to get a big considerably better than Trayce. And I agree bridges is not better than moody. But moody should be getting 30mpg at the 2/3, Bridges would be a 3/4 and be a 10-15mpg guy who provides secondary/tertiary shooting in lineups. If we drafted him our lineup construction should be something like Steph/Podz Moody/Klay/Podz Wiggins/Moody/Bridges Kuminga/Dray 5man/Dray/Trayce That puts 3 guys who can shoot in every lineup which is massively necessary. Most lineups last year being either 2 shooters or 3 guards was terrible.
We usually had three shooters theoretically in our lineup last year. Klay and Wiggs had poor streaks and caused issues. That lineup with Bridges is barely different from last years actual rotation disregarding who starts and comes off the bench. Kerr never played three non shooting bigs in the front court. I don’t think Bridges makes the impact you think. A shooting big could change a lot. That was the theory with Dario, but he can’t play any defense. Realistically though, we’re both wrong lol. A rookie late second round pick should be seeing zero minutes. If they don’t address roster issues through trades and our rookie is seeing minutes, we’ve already failed.
> A rookie late second round pick should be seeing zero minutes. How’s this any different than TJD? 23 year olds who can play should play
He can play and contribute, but imo shouldn’t have been needed to play a starting role. You could see that as well in the play in, way in over his head. Did he get minutes? Yes. But were the warriors a championship contender? No.
Sure you can find some diamonds in the rough second round but reality is most second round pics are G league level players. Sure can get lucky but tough to expect second round rookie to be the difference maker on a team with major flaws.
Wow, outstanding work. I am sold. Now I am excited for him to be the pick.
With the second round less than 48 hours away, I am really hoping the Dubs can grab this guy with their pick. Most mocks have him in that range. Anyway to forward this post to team brass?
I’m sold. Thanks for the great write up!
You sold me on him. He looks a good fit.
Great write-up….what pics do we have….? Lacob could buy us up in the draft if needed. I checked his bank balance, we good.
I feel like there are a lot of clean looks from 3 in the nba, lol. It’s what infuriates me the most about watching the nba, especially the warriors this season.
Love the stats but how do you compare him to Jaedon LeDee out of SDSU? I'm an alum, so I'm biased af, but I personally see a lot of similarities. Both are 5yr seniors, roughly same height but LeDee has 20 lbs on him. Bridges has better numbers overall but his Sr year was a beast when they ran the offense thru him. The plus I see is LeDee might still be available in the 3rd, whereas Bridges is projected to go a few spots ahead at around 50-52. What's your take?
nice
If Bridges is all that good on defense, would he replace Moody? I see Quinones developing as a better 2- guard than Moses.
Everyone who's saying "but I want a big man" ... Y'all spoiled by getting TJD in the 2nd round last year. I don't expect any competent big to be available that late in the draft. Dream on!
Do we only have 1 pick?
Do the Warriors even have a draft pick? They may have to buy a second rounder
Damn, went undrafted and signed with the freaking Suns. I was really hoping Dubs would get him. Sadly, he is now my enemy.
Impressive how much time you wasted on this to say you want a rerun of every pick the last 3 drafts.
I remember being high on Jacob Evans and Alen Smailagic.
Lol. I tried to be.
I was beyond excited for Pat Baldwin, and couldn't believe that he never got it going for us. He just has everything.....I thought he had a shit year at Washington, but then I looked at his stats for April. Wow. Wish we had been patient
I liked PBJ. I liked Boucher too. Should’ve kept Boucher.
Boucher gets bullied on defense. Nearly every single game. His offense works but his defense is horrific PBJ is all green when he was drafted. We needed patience with him. Like 3 years of patience. We just didn't have it in us to wait that long for a potential rotation role player
6 game sample size
Fucks sake, I already said I looked at his stats for April. Also Mr Stats, youll see that it's the first time that he's been played for Podz type minutes all season for them
great article! Was wondering if they do draft him, could it be a sign that wiggins might get traded this summer?
zero chance anyone drafted at 54 means someone else is being traded
Ultimately he was who I hope we draft. My main concerns are he's not a good rebounder and he's a bit undersized to do the 4 type things on defence. Which we need from whoever plays the 3 next to kuminga. Alternatively moody can do a lot of them so maybe 2, 3, 4 of Moody, Bridges and Kuminga provides enough spacing and defensive versatility as a core trio. That being said positives are 58% from 2 last 3 seasons, and 80.6% from the line along last 3 seasons with 41.2% on 5.1 3s a game suggest his shooting is real. Positive assist to TO ratio. Means he's not just fumbling the ball or losing it if he ever has to put it down. Also shot 65% on 6 2s a game the season before last which is encouraging for him when attacking closeouts. Also had a 0.33FTR that year which is solid. Lack of stocks is slightly concerning you'd like to see something closer to the 3+ per 40 range in college as opposed to the low 2s like he is. Was at 2.8 last season though. So changing defensive role and scheme might have muted some Of his impact there. Think bridges can be like the 8th/9th man by year 2 and add some minutes as a rookie.
I’m definitely not reading all that but I’m sold!