For years fans of the Golden State Warriors have been lamenting the team's lack of size, even if Steve Kerr's small-ball revolution has led to four championships in the past 10 years.
More specifically, the complete lack of a legitimate seven-foot shot-blocking presence has plagued the Warriors over recent years. While Quinten Post was a revelation as a seven-foot 3-point sniper during his rookie year, there's nothing to suggest that the former 52nd overall pick will become the sort of interior deterrent Golden State probably need as Draymond Green inches closer towards the end.
Warriors take Australian giant in latest ESPN mock draft
For those fans still wishing for the Warriors to target a true big man that can protect the paint, their wish may be granted if ESPN's latest mock draft actually comes to fruition. Armed with the 41st overall pick they acquired from the Miami Heat in the Jimmy Butler trade, analysts Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo have Golden State taking Australian big man Rocco Zikarsky.
There's literally no player bigger that the Warriors could select (if available), with Zikarsky topping the charts at the recent draft combine as a 7'3" prospect. He also had the biggest standing reach at 9'6 1/2", while also measuring a near 7'5" wingspan.
Not surprisingly, Zikarsky uses his height and length to project as one of the better pure shot-blockers in this draft class, while also being a lob threat on the roll or in transition opportunities.
Kevin O'Connor of Yahoo Sports compares Zikarsky to Jakob Poeltl in his draft evaluation, with the 29-year-old, seven-foot Austrian someone that the Warriors have shown trade interest in during the past.
Unfortunately Zikarsky's numbers with the Brisbane Bullets have been poor over the past two seasons, subsequently seeing the 18-year-old fall down draft boards after previously being viewed as a potential first-round pick.
In his second year at the pro level, Zikarsky only saw 11.4 minutes per game in which he averaged 4.6 points, 3.4 rebounds and 0.6 blocks while shooting an underwhelming 52.4% from the floor and 57.1% from the free-throw line.
While there's enough upside at his young age to almost ensure that Zikarsky gets drafted in the second-round, those numbers suggest that he's a long way from producing consistently at the NBA level.
Still, Zikarsky would be an intriguing player to follow in Santa Cruz next season, and perhaps in time could become the dominant interior force that Warrior fans have been so regularly calling out for.