The Golden State Warriors’ 2024-25 season ended at the hands of the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference Semifinals. The franchise has an apparent need to fill out the five spot during the offseason, whether it is to be done through the NBA Draft or free agent acquisitions is to be seen.
Oregon Ducks center Nate Bittle is a viable option if he does indeed decide to keep his name in the pool. He has until June 15 to decide if he will use the extra year of eligibility granted by the NCAA or not.
According to Danny Emerman of the San Francisco Standard, the organization will be bringing in the following college basketball players for pre-draft workouts:
Milos Uzan, Houston Cougars (6-4 guard)
Tamar Bates, Missouri Tigers (6-5 guard)
Kobe Johnson, UCLA Bruins (6-6 guard)
RJ Luis, Saint John’s Red Storm (6-6 guard/forward)
Steven Crowl, Wisconsin Badgers (7-0 forward/center)
Nate Bittle, Oregon Ducks (7-0 center)
Since Bittle wasn’t invited to the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago, this workout with the Warriors could just be being used as a sort of tool to figure out what he needs to continue to work on or improve in his final campaign with Oregon. Hearing from the likes of Golden State coach Steve Kerr and general manager Mike Dunleavy will leave some constructive criticism on what it will take for him to succeed at the next level down the road.
In 2024-25, Bittle averaged 14.2 points per game on a shooting split of 51.1 field goal percentage, 33.6 three-point percentage, and 81.1 free throw percentage. In the Big Ten Conference, he finished No. 7 in rebounds at 7.6 per game and No. 2 in blocks at 2.1 per game. The seven-footer was named to the Big Ten All-Defensive Team and Third Team All-Big Ten for his efforts.
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Before Bittle’s decision, the Ducks have nine of the 15 available scholarship spots filled. Here is where Oregon coach Dana Altman’s upcoming team in Eugene currently stands:
6-9 sophomore forward Kwame Evans Jr.
6-0 sophomore guard Jackson Shelstad
6-7 junior forward Oleksandr Kobzystyi
6-6 junior forward Dezdrick Lindsay
6-3 freshman guard Jamari Phillips
6-4 junior guard TK Simpkins (transfer from Elon Phoenix)
6-5 guard JJ Frakes (2025 three-star recruit, per 247 Sports)
6-7 sophomore forward Devon Pryor (transfer from Texas Longhorns)
6-9 sophomore forward Sean Stewart (transfer from Ohio State Buckeyes)
Oregon had to release Penn State Nittany Lions transfer Miles Goodman from his financial aid agreement. According to Matt Prehm of 247Sports, the forward is facing “five misdemeanor counts of invasion of privacy and one misdemeanor count of unlawful dissemination.”
The program also lost out on international recruit Dame Sarr as he picked the Duke Blue Devils. This is most likely due to Cedric Coward, who was set to transfer to Durham from the Washington State Cougars, will most likely keep his name in the NBA Draft after a spectacular showing at the combine.
