Willie Cauley-Stein is your newest Sacramento King
- Thread starter Darth Divac
- Start date
Part of what I love about this draft is that Vlade cast against type. Had we drafted Hezonja I could understand it but in a way it speaks to a narrower view on Divac's part.
The WCS pick shows he's very open minded and flexible. I would've been fine with Super Mario but I like the message this pick sends. More evidence that Vlade has the ability to be a very good VP.
The WCS pick shows he's very open minded and flexible. I would've been fine with Super Mario but I like the message this pick sends. More evidence that Vlade has the ability to be a very good VP.
I also would have been pretty happy with Mario, or Mudiay. I think both have pretty high upside. We also need defense and for years have needed a more ideal fit next to Cuz. We finally have that, a versatile/athletic defender who's going to make an impact. He'll be even more valuable playing in the West. Our frontline of Rudy/WCS/Cuz has a helluva lot of potential, a lot of length. If we can get Rudy to focus on defense, that's pretty damn solid.
It's not a sexy pick though. Most casual fans want the offensive guys. They likely won't even notice the impact WCS makes over the next few years but it'll be there, and wins should follow. But casual fans being what they are will get excited as soon as WCS throws down a few monster dunks on someone's face. That'll be a small portion of what he brings but they'll like it. Right now it's looking like
Lawson/Rondo
X
Rudy
WCS
Cuz
Lawson or Rondo looks likely. I have an unknown at the 2 as my guess is either Nik or Ben goes if we're getting Lawson but also, drafting WCS allows us to use our cap space to go after a SG. If it's Rondo, that change a bit and we're likely using our cap space for him and starting either Nik/Ben at the 2. Interestingly, as much as I'd prefer not to trade for Lawson, it does allow us to patch up our 2 spot. Go after Rondo and we're probably not doing much at the 2.
If we trade for Lawson my hope would be to keep JT as a 3rd big. But our strength is clearly in the front court. Have to shore up our guard situation and add some shooting. I'm generally happy Vlade didn't get sidetracked and stuck to solving our defensive issues, as much as I also would have liked Hezonja/Mudiay.
It's not a sexy pick though. Most casual fans want the offensive guys. They likely won't even notice the impact WCS makes over the next few years but it'll be there, and wins should follow. But casual fans being what they are will get excited as soon as WCS throws down a few monster dunks on someone's face. That'll be a small portion of what he brings but they'll like it. Right now it's looking like
Lawson/Rondo
X
Rudy
WCS
Cuz
Lawson or Rondo looks likely. I have an unknown at the 2 as my guess is either Nik or Ben goes if we're getting Lawson but also, drafting WCS allows us to use our cap space to go after a SG. If it's Rondo, that change a bit and we're likely using our cap space for him and starting either Nik/Ben at the 2. Interestingly, as much as I'd prefer not to trade for Lawson, it does allow us to patch up our 2 spot. Go after Rondo and we're probably not doing much at the 2.
If we trade for Lawson my hope would be to keep JT as a 3rd big. But our strength is clearly in the front court. Have to shore up our guard situation and add some shooting. I'm generally happy Vlade didn't get sidetracked and stuck to solving our defensive issues, as much as I also would have liked Hezonja/Mudiay.
I love the pick.. WCS is an intelligent BBall player and intelligent in real life. He knows his role. You tell him what to do and he's going to do it. And he specializes in defense!!! What more could we want? Also it takes a LOT of heat off Cousins so it will make Cousins that much better. So we're have an improvement at PF/C and we have Cousins improving because he has the type of player that will allow cousins to flourish down low.
Now all we need to do is Sign Wes Matthews and trade for Lawson (over the cap but just a dream)
C/PF - Cousins
PF/C - WCS
SF - Gay
SG - Matthews
PG - Lawson
That's a playoff roster if not this year then the next. No doubt.
And before people say it's impossible, I already know it is
It's a fantasy not a reality lol.
Now all we need to do is Sign Wes Matthews and trade for Lawson (over the cap but just a dream)
C/PF - Cousins
PF/C - WCS
SF - Gay
SG - Matthews
PG - Lawson
That's a playoff roster if not this year then the next. No doubt.
And before people say it's impossible, I already know it is
It's a fantasy not a reality lol.
With no changes, we are solid through 11, with some versitility and Moreland in development or injured reserved. That's assuming we keep Miller and Casspi
Every roster piece seems logical now.
Collison/Miller/Ray
Ben/Nik
Rudy/Casspi
WCS/Landry
Cousins/Thompson
Now it may take time for that to form with WCS, maybe he plays off the bench for awhile, maybe not.
With that roster it is critical Nik nails his shots.
But the good news is we could use all available cap space on a single free agent and be complete, throw everything we have at someone, every penny.
Every roster piece seems logical now.
Collison/Miller/Ray
Ben/Nik
Rudy/Casspi
WCS/Landry
Cousins/Thompson
Now it may take time for that to form with WCS, maybe he plays off the bench for awhile, maybe not.
With that roster it is critical Nik nails his shots.
But the good news is we could use all available cap space on a single free agent and be complete, throw everything we have at someone, every penny.
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If you didn't notice the exceptional man defense he displayed once the Malone era began, not sure what to say. He gave hell to some of the best in the league. A.D. particularly hates going against him.
Unfortunately it coincided with the rapid disappearance of the rest of his game, so now we might have 2 7 footers running around out there defending and not able to do much more.
Unfortunately it coincided with the rapid disappearance of the rest of his game, so now we might have 2 7 footers running around out there defending and not able to do much more.
It's hard to call these things. There's no hard cap and I'm sure he'll be able to play normal minutes or else this would have been a far larger topic of discussion with the physicals. On the other hand, I will also not be surprised if I see him double over in the 4th in his rookie year, given that he's said he is one of those that show symptoms (rookie wall time, maybe). There's so many variables with it and it's not something that needs constant medical attention, so no one knows when it'll hit. If it's a particularly hard fought game or he's chasing some guards more than others, etc. Can't say. It's one thing to armchair GM, but armchair MD/DO is another thing altogether. Even his doc wouldn't be able to give you a set time or amount of distance ran, etc. We just don't have the ability to monitor all of the variables and predict when he'll have symptoms or not.
It's pretty rare to have sickle cell trait in the states, rarer still to show symptoms, and possibly moreso to be a pro athlete in this situation. I don't think theres enough empirical evidence in this scenario to say much in terms of overarching statements.
It's pretty rare to have sickle cell trait in the states, rarer still to show symptoms, and possibly moreso to be a pro athlete in this situation. I don't think theres enough empirical evidence in this scenario to say much in terms of overarching statements.
S
Rajon Rondo would almost instantly catapult this team into a playoff position no lower than a 6th seed. Ty Lawson is undersized and not a great shooter, yes he is a solid distributor however not nearly as crafty as Rondo. In my opinion, Lawson's strengths do not outweigh his liabilities. Rondo's name alone makes sense since it will put butts in seats as well.
Vlade just said absolutely NO ONE in Kings organization knew until last second who HE was going to draft. Considered Mudiay but didn't know enough about him to feel comfortable. He knew Cauley-Stein after his workout, trusted a lot of people in Kentucky giving him feedback and no one can blame him (Vlade) for anything now into the future - it's all on him. Says he needs Coach Karl (and everyone) to trust him to do his job, get the chemistry right.
Found one:
Willie Trill Caulie-Stein: "You know, it was crazy, 'cuz I kinda got a feeling when I was there working out [for Sacramento]. Yo man, I was like, 'I like it here.' Like, you know, I really-- people was telling me, 'Sacramento is a-- You don't want to be in Sacramento. If anywhere, you don't want to be in Sacramento.' And I'm like, I got there and I seen the city, and I seen the facilities, and you know, the guys was cool, and you know, the coaching staff is great. And the new arena they're building-- I can't wait til, you know, that launches off. And, I'm just excited. I'm ecstatic."
EDIT: So many golden quotes. Sees Boogie as an older brother <3
Willie Trill Caulie-Stein: "You know, it was crazy, 'cuz I kinda got a feeling when I was there working out [for Sacramento]. Yo man, I was like, 'I like it here.' Like, you know, I really-- people was telling me, 'Sacramento is a-- You don't want to be in Sacramento. If anywhere, you don't want to be in Sacramento.' And I'm like, I got there and I seen the city, and I seen the facilities, and you know, the guys was cool, and you know, the coaching staff is great. And the new arena they're building-- I can't wait til, you know, that launches off. And, I'm just excited. I'm ecstatic."
EDIT: So many golden quotes. Sees Boogie as an older brother <3