Draft picks Jones, McCaw introduced as Warriors
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Damian Jones, the 30th pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, listens to a question during a press conference announcing him to the Warriors at the Warriors Practice Facility in Oakland, Calif., on Friday, June 24, 2016. Before signing with the Warriors Jones played for Vanderbilt. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group)
Patrick McCaw, the 38th pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, listens to a question during a press conference announcing him to the Warriors at the Warriors Practice Facility in Oakland, Calif., on Friday, June 24, 2016. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group)
Damian Jones, on the right, could become a crucial developmental piece for the Warriors once healthy.
Patrick McCaw sang to the Oracle arena crowd on Wednesday night. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group)
Patrick McCaw, the 38th pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, left, and Damian Jones, the 30th pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, right, hold their Golden State Warriors jerseys while standing with Warriors General Manager Bob Myers during a press conference announcing both as Warriors at the Warriors Practice Facility in Oakland, Calif., on Friday, June 24, 2016. Before signing with the Warriors, McCaw played for the University of Nevada-Las Vegas and Jones played for Vanderbilt. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group)
By Diamond Leung |
PUBLISHED: June 24, 2016 at 12:34 pm | UPDATED: May 17, 2017 at 12:09 pm
OAKLAND — Warriors first-round draft pick Damian Jones came into contact with the Larry O'Brien Trophy when Festus Ezeli brought it to Vanderbilt campus last summer.
It was his first time meeting Ezeli, also a center from Vanderbilt. Now it's Jones, after being selected by the Warriors with the 30th overall pick in the NBA draft — like Ezeli was — who hopes to do what he can to help them recapture that championship glory.
Jones knows that because Ezeli is a restricted free agent, it's possible he could be asked to help replace that other Vanderbilt big man if he departs.
"One Vanderbilt guy leaves, and I can just come in," Jones said of the possibility. "It's crazy, but you never know. I don't know what's going to happen next, but we'll see."
Jones and second-round draft pick Patrick McCaw were introduced Friday as Warriors. The team hopes that its draft haul turns into a bonanza at a time when free agency could see numerous contributors to the Western Conference championship squad part ways.
For Jones, he'll have to wait to make his impact after undergoing surgery to repair a pectoral muscle in which the tendon was torn. Wearing a sling, he said he was told that at most it would take him six months to recover, putting the start of the season for him in jeopardy.
The weightlifting injury might have allowed the athletic 7-footer to fall into the Warriors' lap.
"I probably would choose other people because I'm hurt right now, so I don't have an immediate impact," Jones conceded, as he believed that he could have been drafted in the 20s range.
The Warriors wanted McCaw so much that they sent $2.4 million to the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for his draft rights and then agreed to a guaranteed two-year deal with the 38th overall pick.
"It's crazy," McCaw said. "I mean, I didn't know how much the Warriors really, really, really wanted me as a player. And to have that feeling, have guys that really have interest in me and really care about me as a player, to do that is something special. Me and my family felt like the Warriors was the best situation for me. I really felt like it was home."
The guard out of UNLV is scheduled to make his professional debut at the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas next month, displaying some of the versatility and defensive skills that made him desirable to the Warriors.
Warriors general manager Bob Myers said McCaw was a multidimensional wing with good size. The 6-foot-7 McCaw said he liked watching defensive-oriented players like San Antonio's Kawhi Leonard and Chicago's Jimmy Butler.
"I take a lot of pride in my defense," McCaw said. "It's just something that I really focused in on, and I know defense translates into offense.
"I never feel like I'm as good as I can be, so I always as work as hard as I possibly can each time I'm in the gym."
For more on the Warriors, see the Inside the Warriors blog at www.ibabuzz.com/warriors. Follow Diamond Leung on Twitter at twitter.com/diamond83.
Patrick McCaw
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