It sure would have been nice for the Warriors to have more shooting off the bench this season.
The big question now: Will that come from 2020 second-round draft pick Justinian Jessup in the 2021-22 NBA season?
"We'll see," Warriors general manager Bob Myers said Wednesday on 95.7 The Game's "Morning Roast." "The Australian league is getting more exposure, as it should. It's a good league. He did well in that league."
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Jessup, who just turned 23 years old, was the No. 51 overall pick by Golden State in the 2020 draft. But he already had agreed to play in the NBL for the Illawarra Hawks, essentially becoming a draft-and-stash player. The 6-foot-7 lefty has averaged just under 14 points per game while shooting 44 percent from the field and 36 percent from deep.
That sure sounds like a skill set that Steve Kerr and Co. could have used. But Jessup still has plenty to prove, and it all starts this summer.
"Right now, his best skill is shooting," Myers said. "And he's pretty big, 6-7, 6-8. To shoot at that size as well as he does -- he's a knock-down shooter. But until we see him do it at the game speed of the NBA -- I think the plan is for him to come over here for Summer League, which isn't the NBA but it's better to see him in person -- then we can make that call.
Golden State Warriors
"For him to play next year, and I'm not saying he can't, he's gonna have to prove that he's solid. Even [Jordan] Poole had to prove that this year. [Mychal] Mulder, JTA ... you have to prove you can contribute to winning."
Myers recently said the Warriors' two biggest needs are a big who can space the floor, and a play-making guard. Jessup has the height and he has the stroke to let it fly from downtown.
The NBA is a whole different world, though. How will Jessup fit on the Warriors and at the next level?
Come this summer, Myers and the rest of the Warriors' front office will have a much better idea.