Warriors’ biggest questions after the first quarter of the season

Is Eric Paschall a building block for the Golden State Warriors, and who else fits in to their long-term plans?

ATLANTA — It took fewer than 21 games for the Warriors’ season to come off the rails.

While the team had time to rebuild after Kevin Durant’s decision to sign with the Brooklyn Nets this summer and anticipated that Klay Thompson would miss most of the season with an ACL injury, they did not expect Stephen Curry to break his hand four games into the season. No team in the NBA has had players miss more games due to injury.

They also didn’t expect to be as bad as they were defensively. Having replaced long and experienced defenders like Andre Iguodala and Shaun Livingston with younger, less seasoned players, the Warriors have had one of the worst defensive ratings in the league all season.

As such, the organization has pragmatically shifted their expectations from a potential playoff run to player development and a likely top-five pick. With these new goals in mind, it’s time to take a look at the biggest questions for the Warriors after the first quarter of the season.

Is Eric Paschall a building block?

No second-round pick has ever done what Eric Paschall is doing this season.

The No. 41 pick in June’s draft, Paschall is averaging 17 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game. If that holds, he would be the first second-round pick ever to average as many points per game, and one of only 24 rookies during the modern draft era to post a similar stat line.

Paschall, 23, is old for a rookie, but uniquely fits within the Warriors’ championship window. Clearly, he was ready to play right away. While he won’t get the same scoring opportunities when Curry and Thompson are healthy, his burgeoning ability to read and react to the defense should still make for a seamless fit.

“Right now, he’s just scoring off raw talent,” Green said. “He really doesn’t know how to play the NBA game. As he figures out more and more the NBA game, how to get fouled, he’ll get better and better.”

Positionally, it’ll be interesting what Golden State’s lineups look like. With Green starting at power forward, Paschall will likely come off the bench on a healthy team. He could assume the sixth man role vacated by Iguodala, entering for key stretches or when the Warriors want to go small with Green at center.

Can they sign Ky Bowman?

Having so far spent 28 days in the NBA, Ky Bowman is on pace to reach the 45-day limit of his two-way contract in January. Once his days are up, the rest of his season will have to be spent with the Warriors’ G League affiliate in Santa Cruz.

Since he’s become a major part of the Warriors’ rotation, they would like to find a way to convert his two-way deal to a regular roster spot. As Steve Kerr said recently: “I want to keep him. I think we feel really strongly about that.”

The problem, however, is that the Warriors are hard-capped due to the sign-and-trade to acquire D’Angelo Russell. To sign Bowman, they would need to create room for a minimum salary.

They can waive the non-guaranteed contract of Marquese Chriss before it becomes guaranteed on Jan. 10 — right around the time Bowman will use up his eligibility — but Chriss has played well in recent weeks and, at 22 years old, may still figure into the Warriors’ plans.

Chriss is a good passer who thrived next to a healthy Curry in the preseason. There’s enough potential there to warrant a longer look.

The other option is to trade a player on a minimum contract to another team. Alec Burks seems like the most logical candidate. Burks is averaging a career-high 15 points per game along with 4.5 rebounds and 2.7 assists. He could help a playoff team as a scorer off the bench. While the Warriors have relied on Burks for shot creation, he is a free agent this summer and may be too expensive to retain.

If the Warriors don’t go in either of those directions, they could stash Bowman, 22, in Santa Cruz until March, when they will have enough room below the hard cap to sign Bowman to a prorated minimum salary into the open 15th roster spot.

Should they be worried about Jordan Poole?

Jordan Poole, the 20-year-old rookie guard the Warriors selected with the No. 28 pick, has struggled early in his NBA career.

Among players who have attempted at least 10 field goals per game this season, Poole is last in the league in field goal percentage (27.1) and points per game (9.0). While he has shown progress defensively and as a passer, being rushed into the big leagues hasn’t necessarily expedited his development.

“Jordan is a young guy, he should be a junior in college and he should be coming into a situation where he’s getting shots off Steph Curry or Klay Thompson, or playing behind those guys, learning from them every day in practice,” Kerr said. “Maybe making an occasional visit to Santa Cruz to get a lot of playing time.

“That’s how ideally you want to raise a young guy, but we don’t have that luxury. So we’re throwing him right into the fire. He’s working his tail off. He’s doing a great job.”

His shot is wild. Even his misses aren’t consistent — clanging off the back rim or side of the backboard, or sailing wide left or wide right. It’s hard to put a finger on exactly what’s going on there.

However, all things considered, it’s too early to worry about Poole. The game is slowing down for him, he’s flashed the ability to anticipate passing lanes and deliver the ball to teammates with accuracy. He’s come a long way defensively.

Being two years younger than Bowman and three years younger than Paschall, it’s fair to anticipate a steeper learning curve, even if he was drafted ahead of them. Remember, players are drafted for potential more than their ability to contribute right away.

Who fits in when Curry, Thompson and Green are healthy next season?

While the rookies all figure to be part of the team next season, other newcomers could be doing enough to stick around. Forward Omari Spellman has seemingly turned around his career. He got into shape, fixed his jumper, and has picked Green’s brain in an attempt to become a smarter defender.

“You know how guys love to study offense? Like, if I hit him with this, it’ll get him off balance,” Spellman said. “(Draymond) loves making offenses do something else, make them work a little bit harder than they wanted to, get them to make a pass they didn’t want to make, get it out of certain people’s hands, make certain people shoot the ball.

“He’s a fanatic about that stuff. He’ll be (in film) like, ‘Yo, can y’all play that back?’ Then he’ll break down the whole play and how to negate it.”

Glenn Robinson III, the only Warriors player to start in all 21 games this season, is also making a case to be a long-term piece. Robinson is shooting 39.4% on 3-pointers this season and plays well in transition, reading the floor well and knowing when to cut to the rim or sprint to the corner.

Defensively, he’s often been tasked with guarding the top opposing perimeter player this season. With a healthy Thompson, that won’t be the case, and he should be even better against second or third threats.

Is there a trade to be made?

It’s highly unlikely the Warriors make a major move before Curry and Thompson return. Meaning: don’t count on a Russell trade midseason. However, like Burks, center Willie Cauley-Stein could be trade bait for a playoff team in need of size.

The Warriors only have one second-round pick in the next seven drafts. Burks and Cauley-Stein could at least fetch a second-round pick in return.

Considering how well the Warriors have done with late picks, it makes sense to acquire more. The advantage of being a lottery-bound team is that they can sell spare parts as opposed to having to hold onto them for a deep playoff run.

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Can they get the No. 1 pick?

If the draft lottery was held today, the Warriors would have a 14% chance of landing the No. 1 pick and a 52.1% chance of getting a top-four selection. As long as they finish with one of the worst three records in the league, they will maintain those odds.

Bob Myers already took a trip to scout Memphis center James Wiseman, and he’s expected to take a scouting trip soon to New Zealand to look at RJ Hampton and LaMelo Ball.

According to ESPN’s Jonathan Givony and Mike Schmitz, the top three prospects in the draft are Ball, Georgia guard Anthony Edwards and Wiseman. North Carolina guard Cole Anthony and Hampton round out the top five. While the draft is top-heavy with guard talent, there are few things in the league more valuable than a No. 1 pick.

The Warriors could draft the best player available and groom the next face of the franchise, or trade the pick for an All-Star level contributor who can help win a title within the next three or four seasons.

Regardless of what they decide to do with the pick, it would be a good consolation prize after a challenging season.