There was a lot of action during Thursday night's 2021 NBA Draft and the Golden State Warriors were one of the teams that were most heavily invested in the evening's proceedings. The Dubs ended up selecting Jonathan Kuminga with their No. 7 pick, followed by Moses Moody at No. 14. As it turns out, however, the Warriors nearly pulled the trigger on a draft day deal that could have given Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson a third Splash Brother.
According to Monte Poole of NBC Sports, the Warriors were intent on drafting Chris Duarte at No. 14 before the Indiana Pacers snagged him one spot earlier. Apparently, the Dubs were so keen on Duarte that they discussed a draft day trade with the Pacers surrounding the Oregon guard:
The teams were in contact in the weeks leading up to the draft and discussed, among other possibilities, their respective draft positions.
There was at least one more conversation Thursday night, said a league source, who added that the Warriors might part with Moody and future considerations in exchange.
Warriors team president Bob Myers himself even admitted that his team seriously considered using their No. 7 pick on Duarte. In the end, however, Golden State failed to get their man.
Duarte is considered as one of the top shooters in his draft class, with the 6-foot-6 guard averaging 2.3 triples per game last season as a sophomore at Oregon. Duarte shot at a highly impressive 42.4-percent clip from distance last year, which is why it isn't surprising the Warriors — and clearly a number of other teams as well — kept a close eye on Duarte throughout the draft process.
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