Warriors look for long-term help in draft

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) - Drafting a player who meshes with point guard Stephen Curry is a much bigger priority for Golden State Warriors general manager Larry Riley than finding one who can excel in coach Don Nelson's system.

With the team in flux, it's clear that the Warriors are building around their budding young point guard instead of their aging record-holding coach as he enters his final season.

"We're drafting for the long term and not for the next year," Riley said in his pre-draft news conference. "We'll look at the total picture and look at it as a long-term draft choice. So that will not enter into it."

Nelson broke Lenny Wilkens' all-time wins record late last season and is in the final year of his contract. With the team up for sale, it's not even assured that he will coach next season if a new owner is in place in time to pick his own man on the bench.

Riley is in a similar state of limbo, but he says that uncertainty won't affect his decision-making this summer. He has already traded small forward Corey Maggette to Milwaukee in a cost-saving move before the draft. The next big move will come when he decides whom to pick with the sixth selection on Thursday night.

Riley picked well in his first year as general manager, taking Curry with the seventh pick. Curry averaged 17.5 points, 5.9 assists and 4.5 rebounds per game last season, finishing second to Sacramento's Tyreke Evans in voting for the league's top rookie.

Now the key is finding a player who fits in with the star point guard, who has quickly become the face of the franchise.

"That's obvious and true," Riley said. "He's the guy who's going to have the ball in his hands a lot, and you're going to play right through him a great deal. ... You try to build it around your point guard and your center, or maybe your point guard and your power forward, something like that."

Riley said the traits he is looking for are a strong low-post player, the ability to excel offensively and defensively in pick-and-roll situations, and big guys who can hit an elbow jumper and pass from the post.

The player Riley singled out with many of those traits was Georgetown power forward Greg Monroe, who averaged 16.1 points, 9.6 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game as a sophomore at Georgetown.

"There's some guys that may not look as great as you watch them play, but they have such a skill that they facilitate things for everyone else. Greg Monroe is one of those guys," Riley said. "Greg Monroe is the best passer in college basketball. He makes people better around him. ... You don't see many big guys who facilitate or who help other people. He does a great job of it."

Riley said four players - assumed to be John Wall, Evan Turner, Wesley Johnson and Derrick Favors - will almost definitely be off the board by the time the Warriors pick, with Kentucky center DeMarcus Cousins also likely to go in the top five.

That leaves the Warriors likely to choose from a group that includes Monroe ("best passer in college basketball"), Wake Forest small forward Al-Farouq Aminu ("good athleticism, tremendous upside") and Baylor power forward Epke Udoh ("an NBA-ready game").

Riley also spoke highly of other players, including Butler small forward Gordon Hayward, a player who could be a more serious option if Golden State traded down a few spots.

Some of those players, especially Aminu and Udoh, have lots of similarities with players already on the Warriors roster like Anthony Randolph and Brandan Wright.

But those similarities won't play a big role in Riley's decision Thursday night. Riley also said that drafting another lanky power forward like Randolph won't signal an interest in trading the team's 2008 top pick, a player Riley believes the Warriors can build around in years to come.

"I'm still pretty big on the idea let's take the best player we can get," Riley said. "It's a little bit like stockpiling talent. And I know that sometimes those guys bump into each other and there isn't enough playing time. But I'll say it again, the only thing we're not going to do, I'm not going to take a point guard with that pick. We know that. But it could go in any other direction."

Riley is clearly in charge of this draft. Nelson was not involved in most of the pre-draft workouts and Riley said the coach has less input this year.

Nelson spent most of the spring in Maui before arriving this past weekend, although he has watched extensive tape and has been in frequent touch with Riley to express his opinions about potential draft picks.

"I want his opinions," Riley said. "I want to know what he thinks of basketball players. But this is a draft for the Warriors organization for the long term."