Not only did the Warriors elect to make a second round selection after holding onto their first, they traded up.
In a very surprising move, the Warriors purchased the Atlanta Hawks’ pick at No. 44 to take combo guard Ryan Rollins out of Toledo. The Warriors sent the No. 51 pick and $2 million to Atlanta in exchange. Considering Golden State already has the highest payroll in the NBA, they must have really wanted Rollins.
The 6-foot-4 guard with a 6-foot-10 wingspan averaged 16.1 points in 64 career games at Toledo, and is considered an efficient scorer at all three levels. He was a 50-40-90 guy in college and projects to be an excellent shotmaker. Rollins can also takeover ball handling responsibilities and had good playmaking ability in college. He seems to have a similar skillset and size as Jordan Poole.
Rollins is a bit of a tweener and could struggle guarding bigger wings, though his wingspan will mitigate some of that. Offensively, however, Rollins seems to have the tools to play at the next level, which is why Jay Bilas said he loved the pick and called it a “steal” on the NBA Draft broadcast.
