SBNation NBA Mock Draft: Pick No. 18

Getting Young to get even younger? Why?

Yes, Young is another project and the Warriors are littered with enough youth, but what's a GM supposed to do this late in the draft? None of the trades the Warriors were mock-offered made any sense. Therefore you take the best player available even if he's a project. The Dubs will need to swing some trades and make some key signings to take the next step to perennial playoff team in the loaded Western Conference and Young makes it easier to part with some of that youth. It's a chess move that sets up an even bigger and more spectacular move this offseason.

Young has the biggest upside of anyone left on the board and just a year ago if Stern didn't institute that silly age limit he would have been a top 10 pick straight out of high school. That 2006 draft will go down as one of the worst in NBA history. Young is a better fit for the NBA than the college ball scene. He has all the tools and physical gifts to be an All Star small forward several years down the line. If he can contribute a few minutes off the bench playing Nellie's brand of hoops this season it's just icing on the cake.