For the first time since 2012, the Golden State Warriors are poised to have a lottery pick in June’s NBA Draft. During a pivotal offseason in which the team will attempt to vault back into title contention, the draft will be their most important means to improving the team. Bay Area News Group spoke with two NBA Draft experts — The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie and The Ringer’s Jonathan Tjarks — for a roundtable discussion about how the Warriors should approach the draft.

How do you think the Warriors trading for Andrew Wiggins changes their team needs in the draft, if at all?

Sam Vecenie: I would significantly doubt that it affects the way that they will go about drafting. I think that their organizational philosophy would likely be to take the guy they think is best. And while they do have guys like Eric Paschall, Andrew Wiggins and Draymond Green, I don’t think this takes them out of the mix for a combo forward. I don’t think that D’Angelo Russell’s presence would have taken them out of the mix for taking a 1 or a 2 guard. I don’t think that filling the small forward or power forward hole will make them more likely to select a center. I think they’re simply going to take the guy that they evaluate as being the most likely to contribute to a potential NBA champion within the next three years.

Jonathan Tjarks: I think the odds of them getting a player who’s going to help them next year in the draft are pretty limited, regardless of who is on their roster now. Especially if they’re trying to win a championship next season. That’s why I’ve always seen them as a team that might want to pull the trigger on a trade, just because, if you’re trying to win a championship, it doesn’t feel like this year is packed with guys at the top of the draft who will come and help you right away.

Is there a clear No. 1, or a couple of prospects, who are separating themselves?

SV: If you talk to NBA executives, what their overall feeling is right now is that they would probably prefer to not have a pick in the top five, they would probably prefer to have a pick more in the eight-to-15 range. Those contracts tend to be more valuable and cost effective. Say the Warriors take Anthony Edwards at No. 1, he will be on a four-year $47 million contract. Is there a world of difference between No. 1 Anthony Edwards and, let’s say, Killian Hayes, who I have at seven on my board right now? Certainly not commensurate to what their salaries will be next season, in my opinion. So, I think the Warriors will be active in potential trade discussions, if only because it’s hard to feel confident that there will be many players at the top of this draft who will be able to immediately contribute to a team whose aspirations are contending for an NBA championship.

JT: It doesn’t seem like it. My guess would be that Anthony Edwards will rise just because he fits the obvious needs of where the league is going. He’s a big guard — 6-5, 230 — freakish athlete, and he can shoot 3s. There’s a lot of holes in his game, his team is pretty bad this year but, when it’s all said and done, a player of his skill set is going to rise as we get close to the draft.

The top of most boards right now have Anthony Edwards and a LaMelo Ball in some sort of order. What’s your feeling on those two guys and do you have a preference between those two?

SV: I think it’s close. I don’t think that they have necessarily pushed themselves so far ahead of everyone else. It’s more that no one else has emerged along with them. I prefer Anthony Edwards at this moment, because he is a power athlete with all sorts of body control. I believe in the jump shot to translate at a substantial level. He’s a tough shot taker, and you know that there are going to be concerns about the quality of shots that he takes at the next level, but I think that if you get him into a strong team environment there’s more to work with in regards to developing his game. He has been given tools that many NBA players can’t even fathom, in terms of leaping ability, athleticism, fast twitch and body control. If you can work with his skill level that he currently possesses, you’ve got a chance to get someone that could be an All-Star down the road, but he’s farther off than most No. 1 overall picks.

JT: No, I think there’s some things with LaMelo, both in terms of off the court and just his game in general, that are going to cause him to fall. I will say this: LaMelo, at the very least, makes guys better, and that’s the knock on Edwards. He’s a pretty one-dimensional scorer right now. But with LaMelo, the issue is his athletic ability. He’s probably not as athletic as Lonzo (Ball), much worse defender and he really cannot finish around the basket. So his game is very dependent on jacking 3s, and he is not great at that either. So there’s just a lot of holes in his game, but LaMelo does have the ability to pass the ball in a way Edwards does not. So if you’re looking for a point guard, I think LaMelo would make more sense than Edwards, but if you’re Golden State you obviously don’t need a point guard.

SV: I don’t. Unless there’s a team that becomes specifically enamored with someone like Anthony Edwards or LaMelo Ball and thinks of one of those two as genuine potential stars in a way that I, personally, do not. That’s not to say they don’t have star potential, but I think that their downside is certainly much higher than most top picks that we’ve seen come through in recent years. That definitely affects what teams will be willing to give up in a deal.

JT: Every situation is different with that. I don’t think you can look at a trade by a chart like football, because in basketball it’s all about teams falling in love with players. So if someone falls in love with someone, like the way that Philly did with Markelle Fultz, they might be willing to do anything to get that guy. But there’s not necessarily a one-to-one ratio of ‘This pick has X value, this pick has Y value.’ It’s so dependent on the individual player and the context. The thing too for Golden State is, I just don’t know that they need more picks either, because it’s going to be hard enough for young guys to crack the rotation.

What are your thoughts on James Wiseman? People are pretty split on his evaluation.

SV: I’m not sure that any center should be taken No. 1 overall anymore, given the way that the position works now. Unless that center is capable of being a pure No. 1 offensive option in the way that Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid or Karl-Anthony Towns are. With James Wiseman, we have seen no evidence that that is something within his potential range of outcomes. He doesn’t handle out on the perimeter, he doesn’t make high-level reads in terms of passing. The jump shot is certainly a skill he will probably possess, at least as a trailer 3-point shooter or as a pick-and-pop guy, but I don’t really see him as an offensive creator in the way that he would need to be to make a realistic case to select him at No. 1.

JT: My main concern with Wiseman is that, if you’re going to be a center drafted in the top three, you have to have one unique skill, whether it’s being an elite shooter like Karl-Anthony Towns, or an elite passer like Jokic or an elite defensive player like Rudy Gobert. And, from what I understand, Wiseman’s biggest strength right now is being big and posting up — more of a Deandre Ayton type. I’m just not sure a player like that represents much value when you can get a center pretty much off the street who could do a lot of the same things.

If you are the Warriors, is there a player on your board that you would circle as the best fit for what you want to do and your timeline?

SV: Not really. I understand the appeal of an Obi Toppin for them. At 6-foot-9, 6-foot-11 wingspan, good power athlete, great body control, can really handle the ball on the perimeter for a big. You can run a lot of different dribble handoff actions with him or throw the ball into him at the elbow and let him initiate action. Also, he’s a pretty good 3-point shooter, in my opinion, I buy the mechanics. Defensively, there are some concerns in terms of how stiff he is. Nonetheless, I think that you can see a world where he fits well in between super lengthy guys like Draymond Green and Andrew Wiggins. But, again, I would probably not limit myself to a certain position.

JT: If you’re going to gamble on Andrew Wiggins, Edwards has a lot of the same kind of strengths and weaknesses. He’s just as athletic and even bigger in terms of his frame, and he’s a better shooter. So I can see Golden State falling in love with that and going with a lineup of death, with your big three, Wiggins as your fourth option and Edwards as your fifth option. That’s a very athletic group. It would not surprise me if that’s the direction they went in if they end up winning the lottery.

You think Edwards could really fit into that role?

JT: Yeah, he’s a good spot-up shooter. His big problem at Georgia is that he’s being asked to do too much. They’re using him as a point guard and that’s not his game right now. The concern with Edwards is that, like Wiggins, he’s not a super smart player right now. He doesn’t pass the ball much, the defense comes and goes, but if you’re going to gamble on Wiggins, it’s the same kind of gamble. So maybe they double down.

Can we talk a little bit about Jaden McDaniels? Because he kind of hits the physical needs that they could use.

SV: You watch him and there are times where he is far too active, where he takes incredibly poor shots, in terms of shot selection, and there are times where he is invisible and not nearly active enough. A lot of different times this year he seemingly had his emotions get the better of him in a way that resulted in stupid fouls that result in non-winning plays. Basically, I think of him as a risky proposition if you’re selecting highly in the draft. He’s not even starting at Washington right now.

JT: He’s a project, which is why I would think they wouldn’t take him. He’s 6-9, 200 pounds. He’s super skinny. But he’s pretty skilled. He’s a good shooter. They play in a two-three zone and he racks up a lot of steals and blocks. He’s a great athlete, and I would say he has a higher feel for the game than Edwards. It’s just, he’s so physically underdeveloped right now, it might take him a few years. But if you want to take a gamble on a 6-9 wing with shooting ability, it’s McDaniels.

SV: His feel for the game is just unbelievably high, incredibly unselfish. Really smart, awesome defender. He makes winning plays. His game is kind of unconventional in a similar way to Lonzo Ball or even Derrick White. Certainly not an awesome pull-up threat, but you don’t want to go under on him on ball screens because his range is really good, it just takes him awhile to get the shot off. If you corral him and bother him in the pick-and-roll, it’s going to be hard for him to create separation as a primary option. But he’s really good at thinking and finding the open spaces, and you can use him as your second-side ball handler.

JT: I did a big profile on him at the start of the season and when I was calling around, people were like, ‘Oh, yeah, he’ll probably be a mid first-round pick.’ Everyone said that. So it’s just funny how fast things have changed on him. The biggest thing is that he’s had a good season. Not many players have, so that’s helped him a lot. With Haliburton, it’s the combination of efficiency, playmaking and defense. His statistics measure off the charts, he’s kind of The Analytics Guy. If you’re Golden State, though, he’s a 6-5 combo guard under 180 pounds. So unless you’re thinking Klay is going to be the 3, he doesn’t really fit lineups with Steph and Klay. But, in terms of basketball IQ, a guy who could handle the Warriors system right away, it’s Haliburton. You can plug him into that Steve Kerr system, moving off the ball, cutting and reading the defense. He can handle that better than everybody else in this draft.

Our last question is pretty broad: How would you approach the draft if you were the Warriors?

SV: I would trade out and I would not really think twice. If I could get down into the 10-to-15 range and pick up a player, that’d be great, but I would have no qualms of moving out of this draft and getting a player. They have the ($17.2 million) trade exception to use that allows them to take on salary. To get a player just by attaching the pick to the trade exception, it’s kind of an easy move. They could use an infusion of young talent, certainly, but now that I have this Minnesota pick, I would probably move this pick and then use next year’s (top-three protected) pick from Minnesota as the one that helps me get the infusion of younger talent.

JT: I would love to see them trade for someone like Aaron Gordon, if Orlando is willing to blow their team up. That’s what I would do because the best players in this draft are probably two, three, four years away. And at that point, Steph, Klay and Draymond are out of their primes. To me, you look at the draft one of two ways: Either you want to maximize the window now, or you’re trying to go for someone for after those stars are gone. I think with guys like that, I go for it now. Especially if they win the lottery, they’ll be able to get good value.