NBA rumors: Warriors likely draft Anthony Edwards at No. 1 if no trade

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The Warriors have not selected No. 1 overall in the NBA draft since 1995.

That year, they took big man Joe Smith out of Maryland.

What will they do if they win the NBA Draft Lottery this year?

Well, according to Connor Letourneau of the San Francisco Chronicle:

If the Warriors land the No. 1 pick in the draft, they’ll be open to trading it. But if Golden State doesn’t receive a worthy offer, it would likely take (Anthony) Edwards with the top selection, according to a league source.

Edwards -- who officially declared for the draft last week -- is considered the No. 1 prospect by ESPN and The Athletic.

The 6-foot-5 guard averaged 19.1 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.3 steals as a freshman at Georgia. He shot 40 percent overall and 29.4 percent from deep (he went 3-for-25 his last three games).

Edwards -- who does not turn 19 years old until August -- was incredible in the second half of a game against Michigan State at the Maui Invitational in November, racking up 33 points and producing multiple highlight-reel plays.

As NBC Sports Bay Area's Monte Poole wrote in a recent profile:

The Warriors have the requisite patience and proper environment for someone like Edwards to prosper. They know coaching is a crucial factor in maximizing Edwards’ stratospheric potential, and they realize another key factor is environment. With a nine-man staff under Steve Kerr and a culture of winning, they rank high in both areas.

The primary factor is talent, and Edwards has plenty of that. There was some inconsistency, typical of a freshman but also a product of the junk defenses thrown his way on a mediocre team.

[RELATEDKerr discusses Warriors' three options with high draft pick]

The lottery is scheduled for May 19, but it's widely anticipated the whole NBA calendar will be pushed back as the world continues to deal with the coronavirus pandemic.

So you should expect to hear a bunch more draft rumors in the coming months.

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