A look at the Warriors’ first batch of second-round candidates

Golden State announced the first six players visiting for pre-draft workouts. Yes, there’s a Kobe in the group.

Thanks to a variety of trades, the Golden State Warriors will be making their last second-round selection for the foreseeable future when they pick at No. 41 on June 25. They’re wasting no time in bringing in a group of candidates who they might take early in the second round — or even as undrafted free agents. The common thread? They’re all at least 22 years old. Take that, two timelines!

The Warriors sent their first-round pick to the Miami Heat in the Jimmy Butler trade, and they sent their own 2025 second-rounder to the Brooklyn Nets way back in the summer of 2019 in the Kevin Durant sign-and-trade that brought back D’Angelo Russell. That pick has been involved in at least five trades since then before landing with the Memphis Grizzlies after their salary dump of Marcus Smart, ending up at No. 48.

Golden State is picking at No. 41 thanks to their trade for Dennis Schroder, where they sent three second-round picks to Brooklyn but got Miami’s second-rounder back. (For the record, those picks were two Atlanta Hawks second-rounders from the James Wiseman-Gary Payton II deal, plus the Warriors’ own 2029 pick). They do have their own first-rounders going forward, save a 2030 first-rounder owed to the Washington Wizards, protected for picks 1-20. If they do lose the pick, they would keep their second-round pick that season. NBA transactions: They’re FAN-tastic!

On to the first group of prospects who visited the Dubs!

Milos Uzan, guard, Houston

Uzan was the point guard for a Houston team that lost a heartbreaker in the NCAA final last season, transferring after two years at Oklahoma. He averaged 11.4 points and 4.3 assists, and shot 42.8% from three-point range. Uzan has good height for a point guard at 6-foot-4, though he’s light at 184 pounds. He’s a good passer and considered a connector on offense, who has a nice floater game and hesitation moves.

BUT the workout can’t have gone too well, or Uzan had ambitions of getting drafted in the first round, because Houston announced Tuesday that Uzan would be returning to school.

Kobe Johnson, UCLA

Kobe Johnson is the brother of the Atlanta Hawks’ Jalen Johnson, a 23-year-old rising star who is about to start a five-year, $150M contract next season. The younger Johnson is a 22-year-old, 6-foot-6, 200-pound combo guard who spent three years at USC before transferring to UCLA for his senior year.

Johnson’s calling card is his defense. He made the Big Ten All-Defensive team last season, averaging 1.6 steals per game. It was the third year he was an all-conference defender in four college seasons. He’s a 36.2 percent three-point shooter, doing most of his damage from the corners, and is reportedly a solid passer. This is a classic three-and-D prospect, one who isn’t a high-usage player on offense. The questions comes in whether the Warriors think he can live up to the “three” part.

RJ Luis, Jr., St. John’s

Luis was the Big East Player of the Year, the Big East Tournament MVP, and a second-team All-American after averaging 18.2 points, 7.2 rebounds and two assists. He’s a scoring wing, measuring just under 6-foot-6 with a 6-foot-11 wingspan and a 38-inch vertical jump. His problem is efficiency, after he shot 44% overall and 34% from three-point range. After a mediocre performance shooting the ball at the draft combine, he may well go back to college for his final season.

Nate Bittle, Oregon

Bittle is a former five-star high school recruit whose college career was stalled due to injury and illness. In 2023-24, he broke his wrist, then lost 15 pounds thanks to a mysterious illness that turned out to be complications from long COVID. Last season, the seven-footer averaged 14.2 points, 7.6 rebounds, 2.1 blocks and 1.9 assists, while making the Big 10 All-Defensive team and the third team All-Big 10 squad.

He’s an 81% free throw shooter who can hit shots from the midrange, and has been gradually extending his range out — Bittle average one three per game on 3.1 attempts. He blocked 2.1 shots per game and averaged 0.8 steals, though there are questions about his strength going up against NBA-sized players. But he’s taller than seven feet and has a 7-foot-6 wingspan, which combined with his perimeter skills makes him a rare commodity.

He’s also a candidate to return to school, as the NCAA granted him an extra year of eligibility due to his five-game junior season. Bittle also needs to get in better shape, but that’s what NBA training staffs are for.

Steven Crowl, Wisconsin

The Warriors love players from Wisconsin. Over the last few seasons, they’ve drafted Wisconsonites Jordan Poole, Patrick Baldwin, Jr., Brandin Podziemski, and Kevon Looney, while their biggest draft mistake was passing on the pride of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, Tyrese Haliburton. That’s a mark in favor of Milwaukee’s Kobe Johnson and for University of Wisconsin big man Steven Crowl, though he grew up in Minnesota.

Crowl is skilled for a big man, and his calling card is shooting — he was over 40% from three-point range the last two seasons. Still, his future with the Warriors is likely Summer League-only.

Tamar Bates, Missouri

Bates is a slightly-undersized guard who looks like a very good shooter. He’s 6-foot-4 with an impressive wingspan of over 6-foot-10. The Missouri guard was just under 40% on three-pointers, made 94.6% of his free throws, and shot over 50% overall. The knock on Bates is that he’s not an amazing athlete in terms of his speed and could be a little small to guard wings. Still, he can certainly score and handle the ball. Plus, it’s easy to teach a guy to play better defense than it is to teach him to be a deadeye shooter.

Bates played very well at the draft combine, so it’s an open question whether he’ll still be available at No. 41. But he has a ton of potential as a scorer, and his shooting is already great.

We will get more clarity on who the Warriors like, and who’s available, when players have to decide wther to stay in the draft or return to school by the end of May.