What should Warriors do if Scottie Barnes or Jonathan Kuminga fall to them in the draft?
A month out from the NBA Draft, there remains an expectation that the top six picks, in a slightly fluctuating order, will be Cade Cunningham, Jalen Green, Evan Mobley, Jalen Suggs, Jonathan Kuminga and Scottie Barnes. If it goes chalk, the Warriors, selecting seventh barring a trade  and the phone lines are open  will have their choice among the muddled variety of next-tier prospects remaining on the big board. They met with several of them in Chicago at last weeks combine. Theyre in the process of scheduling July workouts with many of those mid- to late-lottery names. Theyll spend the next month coming to a forced consensus on either the players (at seven and 14) or trade they believe best fits their situation. Well spend the next month debating those options on the site. But lets start with another opportunity that might surface. Those top six names arent set in stone. James Bouknights stock is soaring. You can bet theres a Davion Mitchell fan in just about every building across the league. Alperen Sengun won Turkish League MVP. The Raptors and Magic pick fourth and fifth. The Thunder currently have the sixth pick. Sam Presti is tight-lipped, has never been swayed by the consensus and has the trust of team ownership for a patient rebuild, done his way. This is a situation for which the Warriors must prepare, a shake-up minutes before they pick. Theres a realistic world in which either or both wings could fall, adding an extra variable to the equation. Jonathan Kuminga  The G League bubble opener was between the Ignite and Santa Cruz Warriors. It was the first public glimpse of Kuminga and Green and, from a Warriors perspective, it was an informative stage, matching two lottery talents up against Jordan Poole, Nico Mannion and other players whod been shuffled through their program. The highlights that day are favorable to Kuminga. His first impression was more impressive than Greens. From a pure tools perspective, he looked like the highest-upside player on the floor, as a skilled 6-foot-7 wing capable of impacting games in several ways. Watch him come from the weak side and erase this lefty Poole layup attempt with a clean block. Watch these two assists, one a slick tight window drop-off in a half-court setting and the other an accurate 40-foot bounce pass in transition, perfectly splitting the defenders and hitting Green in stride for a dunk. Watch him go right through Poole for a layup during a key fourth-quarter possession. Poole isnt exactly comparable to the tougher, bigger wing defenders likely to guard Kuminga in the NBA. So here he is in a similar half-court isolation setting doing the same thing to Axel Toupane, a 28-year-old who was impressive enough in the bubble (as a versatile wing defender) that he earned a contract with the Bucks afterward. Rewind your brain to that day, after Kuminga had gone for 19 points, attached to some playmaking and rim-protecting flair. He received some No. 1 pick buzz in the aftermath. There were people debating whether he actually might emerge as the better prospect than Cunningham, if he continued to flourish in a setting more translatable to the league. But the draft didnt take place the next day. Kuminga appeared in 12 more games to mixed results. The inefficiency became impossible to ignore. Kuminga only made 38.7 percent of his shots, 24.6 percent of his 3s and finished with nearly as many turnovers as assists. Those bigger fringe NBA wings had more success bodying him up and exposing some of the more unpolished parts of his game, while Green soared past him as a prospect with an impressive bubble run and Suggs and Mobley cemented their top tier status on the college level. Kuminga fell to fifth on almost every mock draft and big board the last several months and the tumble might not be complete. Well get to Barnes shortly. But if youre reading the way the draft winds are blowing, Barnes stock is heading upward, the opposite direction of Kuminga. If I were to guess which of the two is more likely to be available for the Warriors at seven, itd be Kuminga. That scenario could create quite the high-stakes war room debate. Kuminga would be the clear highest-ceiling prospect remaining if he falls that far. History typically tells you to swing for the fence in that scenario. Michael Porter Jr. fell to the Nuggets at 14 a few drafts back because of an injury red flag. They selected him, knowing he probably wouldnt even get on the court as a rookie and would need significant development time. That proved true, but the payoff has been immense for Denver. One thing Kumingas time in the G-League taught us is he probably needs more time in the G League. Kuminga reclassified in high school. Hes still only 18, scratching the surface on his talent. His jumper is a great example. It looks relatively smooth (video below), but the results havent been there. He needs more time to refine it, but theres reason to believe itll one day at least be semi-reliable. Much more than the older Mitchell or even a teenage wing like Moses Moody, Kuminga either needs a low-stakes NBA situation where mistakes wont matter or a lengthy G League assignment where he gets an all-you-shoot buffet. Youre drafting him with the intention of turning him into Paul George, not Mikal Bridges. That takes a whole lot more time. Santa Cruz was great to Poole. The Warriors theoretically could draft and attempt a patient development, planting him on the same timeline as James Wiseman. Theres no hiding the increased urgency rising at some of the more powerful corners of the organization. The potential benefit of Kuminga dropping to seven on draft night would be the trade value of the pick. Maybe the Wizards never answer the phone on Bradley Beal. But when you can suddenly tell possible trade partners Wiseman and Kuminga to jumpstart a rebuild instead of Wiseman and the seventh pick, that should give you more leverage. The real tug-of-war could come if there isnt an appealing enough trade to be made, if the Warriors are sitting there on the clock staring at a group of lower-ceiling prospects who are more NBA ready, but an unexpected chance at Kuminga falls in their lap. There are those in the organization extremely high on his potential, but theres also little arguing that others out there would add more to next seasons team. Scottie Barnes  Barnes would probably generate an easier debate if he somehow slips to seven. To evolve as a player, he wouldnt need the type of touches and possession usage that Kuminga would. Its easier to envision him helping now, while still growing into something better for later. Plug him into a switch-everything defensive lineup tomorrow and hed be a disruptive force. Hes a rangy 6-foot-8 with a 7-foot-3 wingspan, a high motor, natural instincts, agility and some muscle to him. Click here if you want a long look at some of his tape. At worst, as a rookie, you could see him filling a Matisse Thybulle-type role. You want more than Thybulle with the seventh pick. Barnes does have more to his offensive game. Hes a playmaking forward who has drawn regular comparisons to Draymond Green during the early draft process. He pushes off rebounds, sees transitional passing windows and makes smart, accurate reads in half court and even pick-and-roll settings. The shot is the concern, which would be the lone pause for a Warriors team attempting to alleviate the spacing burden on Curry, not add to it. Barnes only attempted 40 3s in his lone college season and made 11 of them. If developed well, maybe he one day can hit the NBA 3 at an acceptable clip. But its naive to believe that day will be soon (or, in other words, during the Curry title window). Still, the defensive upside in a modern environment would probably be too difficult to pass on. Its why Barnes appears increasingly likely to go before seven, which would render this decision moot. But if its there for the Warriors to make, pairing Barnes with an offensive-minded floor-spacing prospect at the 14th pick (Corey Kispert?) could generate an impactful draft class. Related reading  (Photo of Scottie Barnes: Jared C. Tilton / Getty Images)