It’s never too early to start planning ahead for the NBA Draft, and for the Golden State Warriors, it’s possible that their pick this year ends up being a lottery pick. ESPN released a new mock draft this week via Jeremy Woo, and it has the Warriors pick falling into the NBA Draft lottery with them selecting UConn star freshman Braylon Mullins.
As of now, the Warriors are in the ninth seed in the Western Conference standings. That would be good enough for the play-in, where they are currently eight and half games ahead of the Memphis Grizzlies who sit outside the play-in at No. 11.
If the current standings hold, which there is a very high chance of, the Warriors would face the Portland Trail Blazers in the opening round of the play-in. Should they lose that game, they will be eliminated from playoff contention and their draft pick would be firmly in the lottery.
Selecting someone like Braylon Mullins in the NBA Draft would help the Warriors on the wings, but it isn’t yet a certainty that he leaves UConn. Mullins has had a solid year as a freshman, but he could potentially return to the Huskies for his sophomore year amid what’s likely to be a bigger role and potentially higher draft spot in 2027.
Mullins has appeared in 24 games this season, including 20 starts, at just about 27 minutes per game. He’s been averaging 12.0 points, 3.4 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.1 steals with splits of 44 percent shooting from the field, 36.4 percent shooting from the 3-point line and 87 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
