The Warriors could end up picking James Wiseman in the 2020 NBA Draft.
A couple of weeks ago, a report claimed that the big man is at the top of Golden State's draft board.
Shortly after that, ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Bilas said that he would select Wiseman if he were general manager Bob Myers and the Warriors end up with the No. 1 overall pick.
Hey Marquese Chriss, what are your thoughts on Wiseman possibly landing with the Dubs?
“I’m just thankful to have an organization that believes in me,” Chriss recently told Connor Letourneau of the San Francisco Chronicle. “At the end of the day, if they do draft (Wiseman), I know they’re making the best decision that they can for this team and that they feel will be beneficial for us to win a championship.
“As a team player, I want to win and I want to be a part of the team. Whatever role I have to have to make that happen, I’ll take on.”
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Chriss -- the No. 8 overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft -- averaged 13.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.4 blocks over the Warriors' last 20 games (18 starts) before the coronavirus pandemic shut down the NBA season.
He shot over 61 percent from the field and better than 78 percent from the free throw line during that stretch.
Marquese Chriss with the legit rim protection on Paul George pic.twitter.com/ergghAK0cu
— Drew Shiller (@DrewShiller) March 11, 2020
Marquese Chriss got turned around at one point in the iso situation, but he showed the ability to stay with Bradley Beal and then got the big block (plus a quick staredown...) pic.twitter.com/JXHKYIZpI6
— Drew Shiller (@DrewShiller) March 2, 2020
Just look at the chaos Steph causes. The final result is a wide open Marquese Chriss driving layup ... pic.twitter.com/9oeq7uhym4
— Drew Shiller (@DrewShiller) March 6, 2020
Marquese Chriss just scored 20 points in the 1st half. The Warriors have him on a non-guaranteed minimum contract for next season. Not bad
— Drew Shiller (@DrewShiller) February 9, 2020
The 22-year-old has been saying all the right things for months now:
Marquese Chriss said on KNBR he wasn't signing anywhere else after the Warriors waived him Jan. 6: "It's not really about the money. I have plenty of time in my career to make money. Right now, it's just about an opportunity to solidify myself. I just wanted to be on this team."
— Drew Shiller (@DrewShiller) February 25, 2020
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What the Warriors do in the draft completely is out of Chriss' control. But it's possible that his emergence impacts the front office's decision-making process.
“I think everybody sees the draft stuff, but I don’t think I really think about it,” Chriss told Letourneau. “I really don’t have an input on it. It’s not something I really research or anything like that.”