Chris Duarte is rising up draft boards

Over the last week, Chris Durate has suddenly become a player that was originally mocked to go in the 20-25 range of this year’s draft to a player that could wind up being a back-end of the lottery player. After originally being scheduled to participate in the NBA Draft Combine in June, Duarte pulled out of the event last-minute and many began to speculate that the Oregon guard had received a promise from a team in the first-round. 

Teams in the 20-25 range of this year’s draft were immediately pinned as potential landing spots for Chris Duarte, but over the last several weeks, the Knicks and Warriors have emerged as two very likely landing spots for the soon-to-be rookie, a source tells NBA Analysis Network. 

The Knicks currently own the No. 19 and No. 21 picks in this year’s draft and the Warriors own the No. 7 and No. 14 picks in this year’s draft. Chris Duarte is now projecting to be a possible late lottery type of player, which puts the Pacers with the No. 13 picks, Warriors with the No. 14 pick and Wizards with the No. 15 pick all as possible destinations for him. 

The 24-year-old shooting guard spent two seasons with the Oregon Ducks in college and during his senior season, he averaged 17.1 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.9 steals and shot 42.4% from three-point range. Duarte is one of the more NBA-ready players in this year’s draft and can contribute immediately as a “3-and-D” player on the perimeter. 

READ MORE: NBA Draft Rumors: 3 trade scenarios for Warriors involving No. 7 and No. 14 picks

Having the ability to knock down three-point shots in succession on one end of the court and then immediately get a stop defensively is extremely valuable in today’s NBA, especially from backout players. The Warriors are a team that will be in the championship conversation for the 2021-22 season, which is why they could realistically look to target Chris Duarte with the No. 14 pick. 

In fact, the Warriors brought in Chris Duarte, Trey Murphy, Moses Moody and Davion Mitchell in for a competitive workout on Sunday, according to ESPN’s Jonathan Givony, which could be very telling as to which four prospects Golden State will be targeting with this 14th pick. 

READ MORE: NBA Draft Rumors: 3 trade scenarios for Warriors involving No. 7 and No. 14 picks

If he is not taken by the Warriors with the No. 14 pick and is still on the board for the Washington Wizards at 15th overall, sources tell NBA Analysis Network that a handful of teams around the league will try and trade up with the Wizards for this pick. Chris Duarte has seemed to solidify himself as a Top-20 player in this year’s draft class and will likely have a chance to contribute from Day 1 in the NBA.