Warriors pre-draft workouts, Tuesday batch

The Warriors hosted nine pre-draft workouts this week looking for candidates for the No. 41 pick and post-draft signings. Here’s a look at Tuesday’s group.

Before Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green arrived in Oakland, thinking about NBA draft prospects used to be the main thing Golden State Warriors fans did during the NBA playoffs. Honestly, it was a big part of what Warriors fans had to resort to starting around February, since the All-Star Game wasn’t going to feature any Warriors either. A Lakers fan friend of mine used to derisively refer to the draft lottery as “your NBA Finals” and he wasn’t wrong.

So even though second-round picks are unlikely to make a big impact on a 2025-26 Warriors team built around Curry and Jimmy Butler, this is still the time to dream about finding another Quinten Post, Jordan Bell, or even a Marc Jackson. It’s a throwback to a time when Warriors fans would dream of draft sleepers, Ike Diogu’s hidden potential, and someday getting Chris Mills’ seven-year contract off the salary cap.

Let’s take a look at these nine players, one of whom could be the next Monta Ellis (No. 40 pick, 2005), Gilbert Arenas (No. 31, 2001), or even Justinian Jessup! (No. 51, 2020). We’ll start with Tuesday’s trio.

Sion James, Duke

James spent most of his fifth college season as the starting point guard to a Duke team that made it to the Final Four. What’s his defining characteristic? He’s huge and jacked. At the combine, he measured 6’4 ½” barefoot and weighed 217.6 pounds with a 6’6 ½” wingspan, which is great size for an NBA point guard and would be decent size for a weak-side NFL linebacker.

How does he fit with the Warriors? He’s a great rebounder for a guard and became a solid spot-up shooter over his college career. James made 41% of his three-pointers and 81% of his free throws last season, up from 28% and 65% as a freshman. Duke also used James as a point-of-attack defender, something the Warriors can use in their back court. While James will turn 23 in December and lacks much of an off-the-dribble game, his best-case scenario is that he can be a Lu Dort type.

The most notable part of James’ post-workout interview was his poise and sense of humor while dealing with an extended technical delay for Zoom questions, riffing that, “I started my college career on Zoom, man.” Duke alum Mike Dunleavy, Jr. likely appreciated that James called Duke his “dream school” and claimed the Blue Devils’ wins over North Carolina as some of his favorite college games.

James was quite good in their win in Chapel Hill, putting up 16 points and eight rebounds, with three steals. Let’s watch some of that!

Ryan Nembhard, Gonzaga

As you may have guessed from his last name and college, Ryan Nembhard is the younger brother of the Indiana Pacers’ Andrew Nembhard. He’s 22 years old, three years younger than his brother, and unfortunately about four inches shorter. Nembhard transferred to Gonzaga after two years at Creighton, where he helped the Blue Jays reach the Elite Eight in his sophomore season. Last season, he led the NCAA in assists with 9.8 per game, led the WCC with 1.7 steals and showed off some remarkable passing instincts.

In his most recent game at the Chase Center, Nembhard dished 16 assists against the University of San Francisco. He also played well at the draft combine, after earning an invite by playing very well at the G League Elite Camp. Basically, Nembhard can shoot, pass, and run an offense, but he’s pretty small. Still, that might be a combination that works for a Warriors team that desperately needs a backup ball handler and loves adding guys that are related to NBA players.

Nembhard showed confidence about his ability to read pick-and-roll coverage and his experience playing in a “read-and-react offense,” much more akin to NBA offenses than college ones. The Canadian guard also told reporters they might be surprised by his ability to guard bigger players and switch on defense, essentially addressing the biggest concern about his six-foot height.

CJ Huntley, Appalachian State

Huntley is another fifth-year senior coming in for a workout. He’s 6-foot-11 and listed at 220 pounds. Huntley put up 15.7 points and 8.1 rebounds per game for the Appalachian State Mountaineers of the Sun Belt Conference, where Huntley made the second team.

The intriguing thing about Huntley is his potential as a stretch big man. He improved his three-point shooting to 35.6% last season, on a healthy 3.8 attempts per game. Huntley’s been consistently between 33.3% and 35.6% for the last four years, though his sub-70% free throw percentage is a bad sign for his adjustment to NBA range.

Here’s seven minutes of Huntley’s highlights from last season.

He’s getting a lot of interest from NBA teams. Huntley told reporters the Warriors were the seventh team he’d worked out for, with five more to go. He said his most NBA-ready skill was running and “finishing above the rim” on fast breaks, but acknowledged he needed to hit the weight room. Asked for an NBA comp, he listed the pick-and-roll and pick-and-pop skills of recent No. 2 overall picks Chet Holmgren and Alex Sarr.

What else is in his Huntley’s favor? He went to high school at Davidson Day in North Carolina, which is less than a mile away from Steph Curry’s alma mater. Maybe they can talk about their shared love of The Commons!