June 23, 2011
STEINMETZ ARCHIVE
WARRIORS PAGEWARRIORS VIDEO
NBA DRAFT-TRACKER
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Matt Steinmetz
CSNBayArea.com
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OAKLAND -- Well, the selection of Klay Thompson by the Warriors wasn't much of a surprise. But acquiring the rights to center Jeremy Tyler was.The Warriors, with the help of owner Joe Lacob's wallet, acquired Tyler from the Charlotte Bobcats, who had selected him at No. 39. The Warriors paid 2 million for those rights."This is the kind of aggressive move we're pleased to be able to make," Warriors executive vice president Larry Riley said. "That's a credit to ownership. We're trying to improve this team in any way we can.It will be a developmental process. I don't know how quickly he'll be able to perform in the NBA. But he's an NBA talent. There will be an onus on him to go to work."Tyler's story is among the most fascinating of any of the draftees. He averaged 28.7 points and 12 rebounds as junior at San Diego High in California, and committed to the University of Louisville. But he elected to skip his senior season and instead play professionally in Israel.
He played just 10 games in the Israeli League and then left the team for personal reasons. The last team he played for was the Tokyo Apache in the Basketball Japan League for the 2010-11 season."He is a person of size both height and bulk," Riley said. "He's played a limited amount of basketball in terms of the professional game but he's young."Monta talk: Warriors executive vice president Larry Riley was at the podium for about two minutes after the team picked Klay Thompson before the inevitable question was asked.NEWS: Warriors take Klay Thompson with No. 11 pick
Did the selection of Thompson, a big shooting guard, mean that Monta Ellis was more likely to be traded?Said Riley: "This in no way affects the motivation to trade any player."Well, that settles that -- for about the next few hours anyway or until the next Monta Ellis trade rumor surfaces.Jenkins at No. 44: The Warriors selected Hofstra shooting guard Charles Jenkins with the No. 44 pick -- no doubt in large part because one of the Warriors scouts, Speedy Claxton, also played at Hofstra and was quite familiar with him.Claxton played for the Warriors during the 2003-04 season and part of the 2004-05 season before he was traded to the New Orleans Hornets. He has been a scout for the Warriors for the past two seasons, working primarily on the East Coast.Jenkins broke Claxton's scoring records at Hofstra. Jenkins is a combo guard who can score from the perimeter and get to the rim. He shot 42 percent from 3-point range last season as a senior.