The Golden State Warriors have to send their first-round pick to the Utah Jazz this season if they finish outside of the Top 7 in the NBA Draft lottery.
↵Right now, they are in a three-way tie for the sixth-worst record in the NBA with the Toronto Raptors and New Jersey Nets with 22 wins.
↵Golden State, a franchise that has made the playoffs only once since 1994, can ill afford to miss out on one of the deepest draft classes in recent memory.
↵Even if they finish with the sixth or seventh worst record, they still have to be worried about being jumped by one of the teams behind them for a top-3 spot in the lottery, which would drop them outside of the Top 7. If they finish with the eighth-worst record, their only chance to keep their pick is through having one of their ping pong balls selected.
↵For all intents and purposes, a win against Dallas on Friday night could be a devastating blow to their future. Welcome the wonderful world of the NBA, where apparently no one has heard of a "moral hazard".
↵Stephen Curry, Andrew Bogut and David Lee have already been shut down for the season, so Mavericks fans can expect to see a lot of rookie second-round picks Jeremy Tyler and Charles Jenkins as well as undrafted free agent Mickael Gladness.
↵But hey, with the playoff race in the Western Conference so tight, Dallas will take all the wins they can get.
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