SAN FRANCISCO – Twenty-six hours after Cooper Flagg was selected as the first pick of the 2025 NBA Draft, the Golden State Warriors finally participated in the process.
On the eve of the second round, Golden State traded the No. 41 pick to Phoenix for No. 52 and 59 picks, later moving up from 59 to No. 56.
With the No. 52 pick, the Warriors selected forward Alex Toohey out of Australia.
Toohey is a 21-year-old forward who averaged 10.5 points and 3.9 rebounds per game for the Sydney Kings in the National Basketball League. He is 6-foot-8 and 223 pounds, and made 26 of 86 3-point field goals.
“A tough, smart and energetic forward,” ESPN’s Jonathan Givony said said on the network’s broadcast. “A great feel for the game and gets in the passing lanes, and gives you a little bit of everything on both ends of the floor.”
With the No. 56 pick, the Warriors picked up 6-4 Florida guard Will Richard. The 22-year-old combo guard averaged 13 points per game and shot 36% from 3-point distance for the national champions. He scored 18 points and made all four of his 3-pointers in Florida’s come-from-behind victory over Houston in the final.
“He’s a versatile shooter, a catch and shoot guy, but also a really good straight line driver and an excellent finisher around the rim who shot about 70% at the rim,” analyst Jay Bilas said on the broadcast.
The Warriors are hoping to find second-round gold for the third consecutive season.
Last year, they picked big man Quinten Post with the 52nd pick, and saw him develop into a rotation big who shot 40.8% from 3-point range and averaged 8.1 points per game.
In 2023, the Warriors nabbed Trayce Jackson-Davis, who has started games for the Bay Area franchise during his first two seasons.
Now Toohey will join a team that went 48-34 and rocketed up the Western Conference standings once Jimmy Butler joined a team featuring future Hall of Famers Steph Curry and Draymond Green.
Golden State took out the Rockets in seven games, and then lost to Minnesota in five after Curry suffered a hamstring injury in Game 1.
Toohey adds a cheap contract to a team that has $139.6 million devoted to just their top three players.
With the salary cap set at $154 million and Jonathan Kuminga’s contract situation still up in the air, the team will need to make shrewd moves to stay out of the luxury tax and the dreaded financial aprons.
