The Kings could use help at multiple positions, but they need to get this pick right.
The Kings have been regulars in the lottery for the past decade, and this year they hold the sixth overall pick. This is a really important pick for Sacramento. The Kings have a dominant, franchise player to build around in Boogie Cousins. However, he’s entering his prime and has yet to win 30 games in a season. Rumor is he’s beginning to get real tired of losing, and if the Kings don’t show serious improvement soon he could demand a trade. Also, the Kings are moving into their new arena at the start of the 2016-17 season. Kings fans would love nothing more than to be back in playoff contention by this point.
Last year the Kings, somewhat surprisingly, drafted sharpshooter Nik Stauskas from Michigan with the eighth overall pick instead of Indiana power forward Noah Vonleh who was considered the best prospect left on the board. Stauskas didn’t exactly light it up his rookie year, but he’s only played one season so it’s still entirely too early to judge.
Looking at the Kings roster, I could see them going in a number of different ways. They could use a point guard, small forward depth and another post player to pair with Cousins. Luckily for the Kings there should be plenty of enticing options on the board to satisfy their needs when they’re on the clock.
Early rumors say that Phil Jackson is not high on Emmanuel Mudiay, this would be great news for the Kings. Despite being a bit of an unknown, Mudiay is one of the four best players in this draft. He would be an ideal fit to play the pick & roll with Boogie Cousins, similar to the way Steve Nash and Amare Stoudemire used to run it so efficiently in Phoenix.
The big concern with Mudiay is his shooting, but he’s extremely athletic and can get to the rim. He also projects as a lock-down defender. In the 45 games he played, Darren Collison had the best season of his career for the Kings, but he’s 27 and isn’t a franchise point guard. In Mudiay the Kings would now have that franchise point guard and he and Cousins could be a lethal duo, watching them play off each other would be a treat for us all. With Mudiay’s ability to attack the paint this would also help open up better looks for young shooting guards Nik Stauskas and Ben McLemore on drive and kick situations.
If Mudiay is off the board when it’s time for the Kings to pick, another player who would be an interesting option there is Justise Winslow. The Kings spent their last two first round picks on shooting guards in McLemore and Stauskas, and they just resigned small forward Rudy Gay to a three year extension, but the high-flying Winslow might have too much upside to pass up on at sixth overall. Winslow could really benefit from being the apprentice to veteran small forward Rudy Gay.
There are a ton of similarities between Rudy Gay and Justise Winslow. Winslow is an athletic freak who is expected to excel on defense; he just needs to get more comfortable with his jumper. Winslow shot 41% on three pointers in his lone season at Duke; he just needs to learn how to shoot off the dribble more effectively. Sacramento would be a good landing spot for Winslow because, again, he could have a veteran in Rudy Gay to show him the ropes and start off on the bench. Sometimes it’s not good to thrust rookies into the starting lineup from day one, especially guys who are only 19 like Winslow.
This pick may not thrill many Kings fans because the Kings seem to have their wing positions locked down for the next few seasons, and it could be three seasons before Winslow would even become a starter with Rudy Gay’s new contract. However, if Mudiay is off the board Winslow is probably the best player available and his upside could just be too much for new GM Vlade Divac to pass up on.
Another guy that’s becoming a popular candidate to be selected here is Kentucky center Willie Cauley-Stein. WCS is a defensive animal that brings a ton of versatility to the table. In WCS, the Kings could finally have their young big to pair with Cousins. At Kentucky WCS literally guarded all five positions. With his quick feet he was effortlessly able to switch on pick-and-rolls. He’s exceptional at contesting shots on the perimeter and is also probably the best rim protector in this draft. On defense, he simply does it all.
The big knack on WCS is his rawness on offense. After three years at Kentucky he didn’t make a lot of improvements on this end, and odds are he’ll never be much of a scoring threat. However the Kings don’t really need that, they have Cousins who is the most offensively gifted big in the league. Defensively is where Cousins’ deficiencies are, so on paper these two form the ideal frontcourt. The other concern WCS brings is his questionable “love” for the game, but I don’t know if that holds any substance or not. He’s always played with great passion, intensity and energy.
Aside from these three prospects, the other option for the Kings could be to move the pick. Again, they are looking to accelerate their rebuild as quickly as possible, so if they strike a deal for an established player that they think could help get them back into the playoffs they could go through with it. At the end of the day, I definitely see the Kings keeping their pick and taking one of three players I talked about above, but they’ll at least listen to offers if they get any.
If the Kings leave the first round with any of these three players, I think the draft will be a success for them. They could land their franchise point guard in Mudiay, their ideal complement to Boogie Cousins in Willie Cauley-Stein, or their possible future Rudy Gay replacement in Justise Winslow. Any of these would give Kings fans plenty to be excited about, and get them one step closer to a return to the postseason.
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