Andrew Bogut is back in Australia playing for the Sydney Kings of the ABL, but he's still keeping tabs on the Warriors.
In a recent Q&A with Ethan Strauss of The Athletic, the No. 1 overall pick from the 2005 NBA Draft took inventory of the Dubs:
"The beauty of what’s going on with Golden State is, they won’t win a lot of games, but they’re going to blood those young guys very quickly. They’re going to get a reality check on what it takes to play in the league.
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Golden State will finally have a chance to figure out which young guys are feasible to keep long term and which aren’t. They haven’t had that chance over the past five years. When you’re competing for a championship and young guys aren’t getting as much time, that’s harder to figure out.
Over the next 15, 20 games, you’re going to learn. If you can blood three or four guys into being good rotation players and bring back everyone else? Well, you’re back in the hunt."
It's unclear exactly what "blood" means, but you probably get the gist.
The Warriors clearly found a gem in rookie Eric Paschall -- the No. 41 overall pick last June.
Fellow rookie Jordan Poole -- the No. 28 overall pick -- isn't shooting the ball well (particularly inside the 3-point line), but he has shown flashes.
We haven't seen rookie big man Alen Smailagic -- the No. 39 overall pick -- because of a badly sprained ankle sustained early in training camp, but the franchise is high on his long-term potential.
[RELATED: Report: Dubs exec had Paschall in top 20 on NBA draft board]
Golden State Warriors
Additionally, two-way players Damion Lee and Ky Bowman have exceeded expectations.
It's all about development at this point, and the early returns are definitely positive.
Quick tangent -- Bogut is averaging 10.0 points, 11.1 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.1 blocks through seven games this season down under.