Draymond Green found himself in the perfect situation when the Warriors selected him No. 35 overall in the 2012 NBA Draft. The Warriors were coming off a 23-win season and had the time to groom the former Michigan State product.
The three-time All-Star knows things would be much different if he was drafted during Golden State's recent dynasty.
"I had a conversation with Draymond about this right after our season. He said, 'I would not be the player I was today if I had come onto this Warriors team three years ago,'" Warriors assistant general manager Kirk Lacob recently said to ESPN Nick Friedell.
Green played in 79 games as a rookie -- starting only once -- and averaged 13.4 minutes per game. Playing behind David Lee, Carl Landry and others, Draymond scored 2.9 points per game while grabbing 3.3 rebounds under head coach Mark Jackson in the 2012-13 season.
"He's like 'When I got here, we were a completely different team. I was given a chance, and I failed a lot.' And he's like, 'I sucked my first year. My second year I was OK. My third year I got an opportunity," Lacob said to Friedell. "That's hard for young guys who aren't being given that opportunity because we got guys who have been here a long time and have established roles.
"There's just no opportunity for growth.'"
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That should change this year with the Warriors. Golden State has completely restructured their roster as they go with an infusion of youth. Last season, the Warriors had the third-oldest roster in the NBA with an average age of 28.4 years old. Currently, they have the eighth-youngest roster in the league, averaging 24.9 years old.
Jacob Evans, the Warriors' No. 28 pick overall last year played in only 30 games as a rookie and totaled just 18 minutes in the playoffs. He should drastically see his playing time increase as the Dubs look to mold him into a point guard.
[RELATED: Jacob Evans could play a lot in second NBA season]
The Warriors selected three players in this year's draft -- Jordan Poole, Eric Paschal and Alen Smailagic -- and the trio could all find playing time this season, even the 18-year-old Smailagic. Just like they did with Green, Golden State is looking to develop its youth for the first time in years.
While the Warriors still have title aspirations, they're getting younger and looking towards the future too. Draymond knows just how important that is for the next wave of Warriors.
