Dubs' new rookie Trayce Jackson-Davis explains viral draft night tweet
Almost immediately after his hometown Indiana Pacers passed on him late in the second round, Trayce Jackson-Davis made a bold proclamation on Twitter.
“Y’all will regret it… I promise you,” the former Indiana player tweeted.
It wasn’t just missing out on playing at home. Jackson-Davis had slipped out of the first round despite being a top-30 player on multiple draft big boards — not to mention how highly he probably views his own talent — heading into the 2023 NBA Draft. Naturally, he was frustrated.
The 23-year-old did get his opportunity to start working toward making other teams regret passing on him in the second round, when the Warriors selected him with the 57th overall pick. Dubs fans immediately found the tweet and celebrated the energy their team’s new rookie was already bringing.
Jackson-Davis got a chance to explain his feelings at the rookie introductory press conference on Friday.
“I always play with a chip on my shoulder,” he said. “Even coming out of high school, going to a school like Indiana, a lot of people doubted my abilities. After four years, what I was able to accomplish there was above and beyond what everyone thought. It’s the next step in my journey, and I know I’m going to have to work and it’s going to be hard. But, at the same time, I believe in my abilities and let God handle the rest, but I’m ready to work.
“Kind of last night just watching teams and picks just going and going and kind of getting to the end, I just basically said, ‘I’m fired up and I’m ready to go.’”
New general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. was probably happy to hear such confidence coming from the second draft pick of his tenure, but given what he said about Jackson-Davis the night before, it’s hard to imagine what the prospect could have said to sour him on the young player.
“We think there’s tremendous value [with Jackson-Davis], another guy we had pretty high on our board,” Dunleavy said, per the San Francisco Chronicle (the Chronicle and SFGATE are both owned by Hearst but have separate newsrooms). “A little surprised he made it that far, but you’ll take what you can get. He’s been a four-year college player, a proven player, skilled player, can do a lot of things — defend, rebound, finish. I thought his passing really improved over his last year or two in college.”
Jackson-Davis will get to show off his development for the Warriors this summer, and eventually this season, where he’ll be rocking the No. 32 jersey.
Source: SFGATE
