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No Steve Kerr questions. Lots of questions about what the 49ers did in last week’s draft.

I guess that quiet/ultra-hot combination shouldn’t be too much of a surprise for this mailbag response.

The Kerr resolution will have titanic consequences, especially if he departs the Warriors (I’m now leaning 53-47 in the direction of an exit just as a guess), but it’s been a very static story since the end of the Warriors’ season and Kerr’s dramatic statements 12 days ago.

Well, as static as possible when it includes a fascinating interview with The New Yorker (opens in new tab) in the meantime that gives plenty of potential hints about Kerr’s future. (As my podcast cohost Dylan Hernandez asked: Does anybody agree to that interview if they’re not about to quit?)

But the 49ers’ continuing draft adventures? Constantly churning up responses, controversies, theories, complaints, and a long line of questions. Which is good. There actually were so many of them that I made a quick coaching decision — I saved some to answer with cohost Matt Barrows on a “49ers + / -” episode later this week.

Also in this column: good Valkyries questions and Giants questions. And one Sharks query.

Yes, let’s start with the team’s latest eccentric group of selections in the top three rounds, which triggered a full-throated revolt by some percentage of 49ers fandom.

Yes, this is more than a trend — this sure isn’t the first year that Lynch’s personnel group (with Kyle Shanahan’s final say) assembled a draft class that veered far from the consensus ordering among mock drafts. In many previous years, those picks largely flopped in actual NFL action.

And yes, the Seahawks’ run to a Super Bowl title (right through the 49ers) was largely fueled by a slate of fast young players acquired in the past few drafts; the Rams have similarly drafted well and benefited.

But just because the 49ers didn’t follow the apparently now Unimpeachable Mock Draft Consensus this year doesn’t mean it’ll turn out just as bad or worse than in past years. The UMDC sometimes gets things wrong, too. It isn’t a math formula. It’s just a bunch of guys posting names and somebody else tallying them all up.

I’d just say that wide receiver De’Zhaun Stribling, taken (at 33) about 70 slots higher than the UMDC, looks to have the skill set to become a WR1 in Shanahan’s system at some point. He also might be a bust. There’s a chance of that with every player selected. There’s a risk in every decision.

If I was the 49ers, would I have used yet another third-round pick on yet another running back, this time on Kaelon Black, after so many previous third- and fourth-round failures at this position? No, I would not have.

Would I have taken a rangy, raw tackle at any point in the first three rounds over the last few years just to make sure I had even half a plan to replace Trent Williams at some point? Yes, I would’ve done that.

When the 49ers look slower and worse than the Seahawks and Rams, it’s certainly fair to point out why this is so. But also, the 49ers beat the Seahawks on the road in Week 1 last year and beat the Rams — without Brock Purdy, Nick Bosa, and others — on the road in Week 5. This is not a failed and losing process.

The point is that the 49ers have a very specific way they look at draft prospects and it’s not like they’ve bungled every single time doing this. They did end up with Purdy in 2022. Mykel Williams, Alfred Collins, and Upton Stout could be long-term standouts from last year’s draft.

And the unspoken part: Some of the higher-ranked players, even if they turn out well for their teams, just don’t fit what Shanahan and Lynch are seeking. It doesn’t work if you draft the way outsiders want you to draft. You have to believe you’re taking the best guys for your systems. (Then you need them to be good, of course.)

Psst: Also, if you take George Kittle in the fifth round and Fred Warner in the third in back-to-back years, and you go 12-5 just last season with a playoff victory in Philadelphia, you maybe should have partial clemency from too many UMDC barbs.

The Niners’ draft record under Shanahan and Lynch was pretty good in the first half of their tenure and not so much in recent years. What changed? — @carlosanimals via X.

Shanahan and Lynch definitely hit bigger in their early-tenure drafts (Kittle and Warner, as mentioned), but that was also an era when they missed with high picks like Solomon Thomas, Reuben Foster, Dante Pettis, and Jalen Hurd.

The main difference in the 49ers’ personnel operation, of course, is that Adam Peters left to become Washington’s general manager in 2024. I might also point out that the last two 49ers drafts Peters helped put together — 2022 and 2023 — were probably the two worst of this era.

And many 49ers people point to last year’s draft — Williams, Collins, CJ West, Stout, Jordan James, and more — as a potential roster turning point. If that happens, it should be evident all over the field and the depth chart this season. If that group fizzles in training camp and beyond, I’ll absolutely say so.

What do the 49ers envision as Romello Height’s role? — ‪@drventure.bsky.socia (opens in new tab)l (opens in new tab)‬.

Height’s likely the top option to replace Bryce Huff as a designated rusher on pass downs — and also should be a tool for Raheem Morris to move around as a linebacker who can turn into a blitzer wherever Morris finds a weak spot in the protection.

Everyone loves RB coach Bobby Turner and talks about how he calls all these RBs before the draft and his vetting process and everything. Yet zero blame for the 49ers RB draft issues seem to get back to him. Why? — @jomolungma.bsky.social (opens in new tab)‬.

Because Shanahan and Lynch make the picks, not Turner. And because Turner’s type of guy seems more suited for the later rounds or as an undrafted free agent, where the 49ers have landed Matt Breida, Elijah Mitchell, and Jordan Mason.

What would it take for the Niners not to draft a defensive lineman or wide receiver with their first pick? — ‪@ac52700.bsky.social (opens in new tab).

Hey, it’s only 70% of the time for a DL or WR with the 49ers’ first pick in a draft!

• Kawakami: ‘How dominant we should be’ — Trent Williams and the 49ers’ 2026 mandate

• Brock Purdy put on a spring show. Next, it’s Osa Odighizuwa’s turn

The three instances in this era (out of 10 drafts) when the 49ers didn’t use their top pick on a DL or WR:

In 2018 (when they took T Mike McGlinchey ninth overall), in 2021 (QB Trey Lance third), and in 2023 (S Ji’Ayir Brown 87th), which doesn’t really count because it was so late.

Basically, to stray from DL or WR with their first pick, the 49ers need to be high up in the draft, have a very specific need that is not DL or WR, then zero in on one guy they think fits them perfectly.

But otherwise, Shanahan and Lynch believe that higher-end talent is more important at DL and WR, which means they need to use their top picks to land those players.

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And they’re fine going after their own kind of players at other positions later in the draft — where the talent is thinner and their specific types stand out.

I saw that there was a rumor that the Warriors might pursue Kevin Durant again. I took it with grain of salt but wanted to hear your thoughts on it. — @razerwire.bsky.social (opens in new tab). (opens in new tab)‬

As long as Joe Lacob is the Warriors’ owner and Durant is in the NBA, there will be rumblings that Lacob wants to reacquire Durant. And at some point, Durant might change his mind from February 2025, when the Warriors did have a trade in place to bring him back and he nixed it by declaring he wanted no part of it.

But my sense is that the Warriors’ front office (maybe except for Lacob) considered that a fairly permanent “let’s not do this again” call from KD. I think they’re right, by the way.

How much more roster juggling, along with their lottery choice, will it take for the Warriors to field a competitive team? And not just count on Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody’s returns late in the season? — @retireddt.bsky.social (opens in new tab)‬.

Well, landing a top-four pick in this loaded draft would be a jump-start to any reload/reset process. And as I’ve mentioned a few times, whether it’s snarky gallows humor or something else, every competing NBA person I’ve talked to lately is predicting that the Warriors will end up in the top four (about a 9% shot by lottery odds).

Beyond that, let’s see if Kerr is the coach going into next season. If he is, I think the Warriors will go full-steam ahead on efforts to land another star — whether it’s Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, or somebody else.

If Kerr is not the coach, then the type of coach they hire as a replacement would be a factor. If it’s a veteran, the Warriors could still go for it. If it’s a younger coach who might not fit well with a locker room full of last-dancers, maybe the Warriors have to pivot.

On one hand, the Warriors made it to the second round one year ago. And on the other hand, they seem old, injured and less talented than most playoff teams this year. What is their best path this offseason? — ‪@evanoreilly.bsky.social (opens in new tab)‬.

1. Let’s see who the coach is.

2. If they feel good about their coach handling a group of veterans, I think the Warriors will try for another star. It starts with Draymond Green taking a lower salary to stay and maybe Kristaps Porzingis doing the same or getting moved for somebody solid at a lower salary. That way, the Warriors have some financial flexibility plus the lottery pick … then Butler coming back at some point.

Do you see what the Lakers are doing right now with LeBron and without Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves? Couldn’t the Warriors hope to do that for a few rounds next season with Curry, Butler, Draymond, and a few other pieces?

3. As long as they have Curry, even if it’s with a young coach, the Warriors should not and will not tank. But they can make adjustments.

Could Moody be traded just to get off his contract? — svorie.bsky.social (opens in new tab)‬.

It’s possible that Moody could be traded during his long recovery, but the reason wouldn’t be to get rid of his remaining two years and $26 million.

The reason Moody could be traded is that his deal is the only midsized contract (from $10-20 million a year) left on the Warriors’ books, and you usually need to add a deal or two like that to match salaries in a large trade.

It’s happened recently. After De’Anthony Melton tore his ACL early in the 2024-25 season, they traded his contract for Dennis Schröder. (Then traded Schröder in the Butler package.)

But because Moody likely won’t be at full speed until 2027-28 at the earliest, I think other teams would be very reluctant to take all that money. Which makes a trade this summer fairly unlikely.

How about Becky Hammon for next coach of the Warriors? — ‪@bingramdds.bsky.social (opens in new tab)‬.

Hammon is a proven winner and would make a great candidate for any top coaching job. But to this date, she’s shown no interest in making the move to the NBA.

Thoughts on the Valkyries trading Flau’jae Johnson for Marta Suárez and a 2028 second-round pick? Doesn’t seem like they got good value and Johnson would seem to have a much higher ceiling — ‪@ceejhansen.bsky.socia (opens in new tab)l (opens in new tab)‬.

I didn’t understand the trade at the time, I guess the Valkyries will never explain their logic, and I still don’t get it. I presumed that the Valkyries knew they could use some more star power and that Johnson could supply it.

And yet …

By not giving us any hint about why they selected Johnson then traded her for a solid-not-spectacular shooting forward, we’re left to come up with our own suppositions.

Was Johnson’s big personality viewed as a potential disruption to the everybody-shares-the-spotlight culture that propelled the Valkyries in their inaugural season last year?

Did general manager Oheema Nyanin strictly focus on positional balance — because the Valkyries have Veronica Burton and maybe weren’t looking for another play-making guard?

Do the Valkyries have enough firepower — with Justė Jocytė making her WNBA debut, Burton’s rise to stardom, and Kayla Thorton’s return — that they don’t need to be looking for players with the highest ceiling possible?

It’s impossible to know. But I think Johnson was definitely more valuable than Suárez at the time of the draft (and the Valkyries agreed, or why would they have taken her there?) and could get more and more valuable as she starts her career with Seattle. And I know Valkyries fans will be watching.

Who do you think will be on the final Valkyries roster? — ‪@jenniferberezan.bsky.social (opens in new tab).

This is a very set roster right now, which is a tribute to Nyanin and coach Natalie Nakase. That was their greatest accomplishment last season — they laid out a vision for how they were going to play, they put together a great expansion roster, and the players flourished within that structure.

So basically, with Kaitlyn Chen looking good so far in camp and preseason and presumably stepping into the backup point guard role that opened when Carla Leite was selected by Portland in the expansion draft, the Valkyries might not have a single open spot.

Burton, Thornton, Gabby Williams, Jocytė, Kiah Stokes, Tiffany Hayes, Kaila Charles, Iliana Rupert, Janelle Salaün, Cecilia Zandalasini, and Suárez are all pretty much locks.

That’s 12 out of 12 spots. What does this mean for Kate Martin, Laeticia Amihere, second-round pick Ashlon Jackson, and Miela Sowah? There could be injury moves (Martin has a quad strain) and there also will be some very good players who can’t make the Valkyries’ roster. Just like last season.

Again, which is a tribute to what this franchise has already built up.

How is Tony Vitello doing so far in your opinion? — @JuneOccidental via X.

He’s a very interesting conversationalist who happens to be managing this team just like you’d expect a five- or even 10-year major-league manager would be doing it.

Obviously, the aggregators and others have jumped on the interesting interview tidbits, which is fine. Vitello goes down some odd rhetorical rabbit holes — but I think his free-wheeling approach is refreshing after Bob Melvin got more and more guarded over his final months with the Giants.

And I think Buster Posey absolutely wanted to see some fire out of this team after last season’s low-energy performance; that’s what we’ve seen lately. If Vitello has been a big part of that, all the better.

No, Vitello hasn’t redefined the role of a manager or been a total flop. It’s good that he hasn’t tried to do too much. He’s just managing a team. So far, pretty solidly, IMO.

What has surprised you most about the Giants season so far? — ‪@kensportsfan.bsky.social (opens in new tab).

Two things:

Luis Arráez picking up everything hit his way at second base; just a revelation defensively so far; and those double-play turns, wow.

And Rafael Devers spending the first month of the season getting challenged by anybody who can throw a fastball above 93 mph … and Devers spending the first month getting beat by anybody who can throw a fastball above 93 mph.

How are we feeling about the Sharks getting to the next level? Loving Macklin Celebrini, Will Smith, and the other young talent. But not sure how to think about an organization/front office that hasn’t won in a long time. — @harryglaser.com via BlueSky (opens in new tab)‬.

Let’s see what Mike Grier and Jonathan Becher can do, starting right now.

I think Celebrini and Smith love being with this franchise, but the Sharks’ brass has to know that these guys are too good to be burning too many seasons outside of the playoffs. Again: starting now.

OK, a question similar to your pod closers: What’s your favorite local golf course to play? — ‪@seehesh.bsky.social (opens in new tab)‬.

When early-morning rain is forecast but mostly holds off, when the course is wide open and play is as speedy as you want, when the sun peeks out here and there, when I’m hitting driver solid on the back nine, and when I’ve gotten on with my city resident’s card … Harding Park is the choice every single time.