Who do we draft?
- Thread starter Folsomkingsfan
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This half-assed rebuilding year after year is getting so tiresome. It's hard to be a fan of this extremely dysfunctional organization. Look at where it's gotten us. Last year, we finished the season on a "strong note" because we were supposedly moving towards "winning basketball". We ended up closing the season 5-5 with the 8th overall pick.
In 2014, Kings finished their last 15 games, 7-8. After a horrific season, we finished "strong" at 7-8 and wound up with a whooping 29 wins. Those 29 wins contributed to the Kings picking....6th overall. The difference between a WCS and a Kristaps Porzingis.
It gets tiring and frustrated year after year. Year after year of not knowing to rebuild properly. Year after year of putting out completely garbage, but have nothing to show for in the following year.
I have a lot of frustration, and it's not directed to anyone except the Kings. Lots of other Kings fans have no clue why anyone would root for this team to lose or "tank". It's because we're seeing the same story repeated. Yes the Kings can find a Devin Booker and a Klay Thompson later in the draft, but that's extremely difficult. The lower your pick, the less chance you have at a franchise player, or even an All-Star. Why can't we have the Karl Anthony Towns, Anthony Davis', Kyrie Irvings, or Andrew Wiggins'? Why? I could very much form a very good argument for the Kings being the most terrible team of the last 5 years, yet, we've been rewarded with busts like Jimmer Fredette, Thomas Robinson, Ben McLemore, and Nik Stauskas. For every Klay Thompson gem in a draft, there are 5 Jimmers.
This is why getting the best possible draft pick is extremely important for this organization. As it currently stands right now, we don't even have a franchise player. It's much much easier to find one or swing for the fences when you have a top 5 pick. It's much harder when you're sitting outside the window looking in from your 8th overall spot.
This is the strongest PG draft we've seen since 09. Kings are facing the realism of not being able to pick any of those elite prospects because we're too focused on acquiring meaningless wins. I just don't understand this organization at all. We traded Cousins, so ideally we should be rebuilding right? Trade expiring vets for something of value right? Get the highest pick possible right?
So now here we are.. deciding on who to pick at potentially 8th and 10th. Hoping for an elite prospect to be passed up till 8th. Hoping the draft board will have at least 1 premier PG instead of getting to pick our own. From arguing over Fox, Ntilikina, or Smith Jr..to hoping at least 1 of them is available when we get to pick. Lots of wasted energy goes towards this pathetic team.
In 2014, Kings finished their last 15 games, 7-8. After a horrific season, we finished "strong" at 7-8 and wound up with a whooping 29 wins. Those 29 wins contributed to the Kings picking....6th overall. The difference between a WCS and a Kristaps Porzingis.
It gets tiring and frustrated year after year. Year after year of not knowing to rebuild properly. Year after year of putting out completely garbage, but have nothing to show for in the following year.
I have a lot of frustration, and it's not directed to anyone except the Kings. Lots of other Kings fans have no clue why anyone would root for this team to lose or "tank". It's because we're seeing the same story repeated. Yes the Kings can find a Devin Booker and a Klay Thompson later in the draft, but that's extremely difficult. The lower your pick, the less chance you have at a franchise player, or even an All-Star. Why can't we have the Karl Anthony Towns, Anthony Davis', Kyrie Irvings, or Andrew Wiggins'? Why? I could very much form a very good argument for the Kings being the most terrible team of the last 5 years, yet, we've been rewarded with busts like Jimmer Fredette, Thomas Robinson, Ben McLemore, and Nik Stauskas. For every Klay Thompson gem in a draft, there are 5 Jimmers.
This is why getting the best possible draft pick is extremely important for this organization. As it currently stands right now, we don't even have a franchise player. It's much much easier to find one or swing for the fences when you have a top 5 pick. It's much harder when you're sitting outside the window looking in from your 8th overall spot.
This is the strongest PG draft we've seen since 09. Kings are facing the realism of not being able to pick any of those elite prospects because we're too focused on acquiring meaningless wins. I just don't understand this organization at all. We traded Cousins, so ideally we should be rebuilding right? Trade expiring vets for something of value right? Get the highest pick possible right?
So now here we are.. deciding on who to pick at potentially 8th and 10th. Hoping for an elite prospect to be passed up till 8th. Hoping the draft board will have at least 1 premier PG instead of getting to pick our own. From arguing over Fox, Ntilikina, or Smith Jr..to hoping at least 1 of them is available when we get to pick. Lots of wasted energy goes towards this pathetic team.
I understand frustration. We all feel it. I dont think the ones happy to see the team win dont get it. Fans shouldnt have to be torn in regards to how to feel after the team they root for wins a game. I dont think things are as bleak as some think it is however. Could we get a better pick? Do we hate the swap and top 3 protection? Of course.
Look at it this way. On a different possible timeline we have zero picks this year. We get 40% of our cap tied to Demarcus (whom I miss). We get a likely middling pick next year. We go into 2019 draft without a 1st round pick. We are likely stuck in mediocrity till well into the 2020's.
Thankfully that is not our current timeline. Things can always be better, just as things could always be worse. Have faith.
Look at it this way. On a different possible timeline we have zero picks this year. We get 40% of our cap tied to Demarcus (whom I miss). We get a likely middling pick next year. We go into 2019 draft without a 1st round pick. We are likely stuck in mediocrity till well into the 2020's.
Thankfully that is not our current timeline. Things can always be better, just as things could always be worse. Have faith.
3 of these 4 guys' teams are in the lottery this year.
And I am not going to look up every year, but in 2014-15 year the Kings were 4 games better than Orlando and went 3-7 to end the year--they weren't going to catch them. Last year, yes, they could have lost a few games at the end, but they were regularly resting guys.
And I am not going to look up every year, but in 2014-15 year the Kings were 4 games better than Orlando and went 3-7 to end the year--they weren't going to catch them. Last year, yes, they could have lost a few games at the end, but they were regularly resting guys.
We'd still have Cousins right now if we'd gotten even one additional lottery pick right in the six years he was here. There's really nothing else to say. The fate of this team will always be tied to the draft. I've watched them barely miss on sure-thing stars year after year and watched other teams win championships on the strength of those stars. Those of us who follow the draft year round know who the guys we don't want to miss on this year are and the lower you go in the draft the more you need to rely on other teams making mistakes in order to get them. Some years a team above us does make a big mistake and we end up with a DeMarcus Cousins because of it. Some years no team makes a mistake and we get Spencer Hawes instead. More often than not we've been the team making the big mistakes in the lottery. But I don't like relying on other teams to make mistakes. I just want to get a high enough pick for once that the draft can be about player assessment and team building rather than luck of the draw-- we get whoever the teams above us didn't want and have to make it work. The lottery itself is luck, seeding is not luck. Winning games we have no business winning by 1 point does absolutely nothing for our future.
And look, I know that being a sports fan is not a rational thing for most of us. We root for our team because it feels good. Our "good guys" beating their "bad guys" in demoralizing fashion always feels good. It's a conditioned response. Chris Paul rolling around on the court as punishment for his many crimes feels good. Joerger beating the veteran playoff team that cast him aside less than a year ago with a roster nobody expects to win anything feels good. Just don't try to rationalize it with me as if this is somehow helping us in the long-run too by building camaraderie or generating momentum or any of the myriad other nonsense excuses I've seen thrown up as rational arguments in favor of hurting our own draft stock. Momentum in March and April doesn't carry over into November. Playoff momentum could, regular season last place team momentum does not. There's no camaraderie to build when half the team will be gone next year. Coach Joerger's future with the team will be secure as soon as he starts winning and drafting an elite talent will make that happen much faster than whipping these kiddies into a frenzy of over-achievement ever will. Maybe I'm full of it, but I just don't see anybody here complaining in the end about a half dozen extra losses if drafting an All-Star who would have otherwise gone somewhere else is the result of it.
And look, I know that being a sports fan is not a rational thing for most of us. We root for our team because it feels good. Our "good guys" beating their "bad guys" in demoralizing fashion always feels good. It's a conditioned response. Chris Paul rolling around on the court as punishment for his many crimes feels good. Joerger beating the veteran playoff team that cast him aside less than a year ago with a roster nobody expects to win anything feels good. Just don't try to rationalize it with me as if this is somehow helping us in the long-run too by building camaraderie or generating momentum or any of the myriad other nonsense excuses I've seen thrown up as rational arguments in favor of hurting our own draft stock. Momentum in March and April doesn't carry over into November. Playoff momentum could, regular season last place team momentum does not. There's no camaraderie to build when half the team will be gone next year. Coach Joerger's future with the team will be secure as soon as he starts winning and drafting an elite talent will make that happen much faster than whipping these kiddies into a frenzy of over-achievement ever will. Maybe I'm full of it, but I just don't see anybody here complaining in the end about a half dozen extra losses if drafting an All-Star who would have otherwise gone somewhere else is the result of it.
I've thought about this some more and I'm now solidly in favor of trading the New Orleans pick for Stanley Johnson if Detroit will do it. The one guy in this draft I feel very strongly about as a two-way star at SF is Josh Jackson but he's out of our range now. He's in play at #1 overall and our first pick is probably going to be around 7 or 8. No chance. After that I like Isaac's overall skillset but he's far from a sure-thing. Rail-thin wing players without one elite skill don't have a great track record in the draft. Jayson Tatum is a more polished scorer but he's a big question mark on the defensive end. He's got some tools, everyone has tools, but his desire to expend effort on that end doesn't impress me at all. I'd be nervous about taking both of those guys. Miles Bridges is picking up a lot of steam right now. He played well at the end of the season and I think he raised his stock into the top 10 conversation. He's growing on me but (with the exception of Josh Jackson) I don't like any of these SFs as much as I liked Stanley Johnson coming out of Arizona. 2 years of shaky play off the bench in Detroit isn't enough for me to forget that.
I also think we need to come out of this draft with one of the top 5 PGs if at all possible. Elite PGs don't come along every year and this is the year to cash in. Fultz and Ball are out of reach already and Fox may be out of reach too at this point. As much as I like Fox as a player, with our roster and coach the guy I really want right now is Frank Ntilikina. He may be a better overall player than Fox anyway since he doesn't have that huge question mark about outside shooting. Ntilikina and Hield together in the backcourt gives Joerger tons of defensive switching and trapping options on the perimeter. Hield could be an elite outside shooter and Ntilikina an above average one. That's a rock solid guard lineup on both ends. And I really don't want New York picking ahead of us because he's got Phil Jackson pick written all over him. Using our first pick on a PG probably rules out all of the elite SFs for us where our second pick is going to fall. When you progress down to the other wing position it needs to be a gifted defender. Well it doesn't need to be, we could just lament our inability to play defense for another 10 years while we try to outscore our opponents every night. I'd prefer that we put somebody out there that opposing wings worry about trying to score against. Since we can't get Josh Jackson, Stanley Johnson looks like a better option to me than anyone else we can get at that pick.
Frank Ntilikina/Stanley Johnson... that's the dynamic duo I want out of this draft year right now. Defense first with a lot of offensive upside.
Also, that unprotected pick in 2019 tells me that we need to undergo the most dramatic one year bottom out and rebound in history if we're going to survive the 2019 draft pain free. We need to be epically bad in 2018. So bad in fact that we're guaranteed a top 4 pick in the 2018 draft where we can draft our center of the future and complete our rebuild in record time. That means we sign no free agents of significance. We put Ntilikina in the D-League until February or March. We let Stanley Johnson start at SF and shoot and shoot and shoot until he gets better or we realize that he's never going to get better. Have Joerger drill defense into these guys with no thought of trying to win games or even compete really. It's an 82 game practice session of clearing up bad habits and getting everyone on the same page. Then you can bring Ntilikina in at the end of the year like we did with Skal and PapaG this season. Give our projected lineup of Ntilikina/Hield/Johnson/Labissiere/Cauley-Stein one quarter every game to play their hearts out. Make it the second or third quarter. Then bring in the mediocre vets and make sure we lose. Ruthless? Probably. Unethical? It's a competitive league, nobody is dying here. We've got nothing but kids left anyway. They can lose like crazy for one year as long as it's productive losing. Draft our franchise center in 2018 and then take the training wheels off, see if we can shock the world in 2019. That's the end of the tank/rebuild forever for the next 10 years.
I also think we need to come out of this draft with one of the top 5 PGs if at all possible. Elite PGs don't come along every year and this is the year to cash in. Fultz and Ball are out of reach already and Fox may be out of reach too at this point. As much as I like Fox as a player, with our roster and coach the guy I really want right now is Frank Ntilikina. He may be a better overall player than Fox anyway since he doesn't have that huge question mark about outside shooting. Ntilikina and Hield together in the backcourt gives Joerger tons of defensive switching and trapping options on the perimeter. Hield could be an elite outside shooter and Ntilikina an above average one. That's a rock solid guard lineup on both ends. And I really don't want New York picking ahead of us because he's got Phil Jackson pick written all over him. Using our first pick on a PG probably rules out all of the elite SFs for us where our second pick is going to fall. When you progress down to the other wing position it needs to be a gifted defender. Well it doesn't need to be, we could just lament our inability to play defense for another 10 years while we try to outscore our opponents every night. I'd prefer that we put somebody out there that opposing wings worry about trying to score against. Since we can't get Josh Jackson, Stanley Johnson looks like a better option to me than anyone else we can get at that pick.
Frank Ntilikina/Stanley Johnson... that's the dynamic duo I want out of this draft year right now. Defense first with a lot of offensive upside.
Also, that unprotected pick in 2019 tells me that we need to undergo the most dramatic one year bottom out and rebound in history if we're going to survive the 2019 draft pain free. We need to be epically bad in 2018. So bad in fact that we're guaranteed a top 4 pick in the 2018 draft where we can draft our center of the future and complete our rebuild in record time. That means we sign no free agents of significance. We put Ntilikina in the D-League until February or March. We let Stanley Johnson start at SF and shoot and shoot and shoot until he gets better or we realize that he's never going to get better. Have Joerger drill defense into these guys with no thought of trying to win games or even compete really. It's an 82 game practice session of clearing up bad habits and getting everyone on the same page. Then you can bring Ntilikina in at the end of the year like we did with Skal and PapaG this season. Give our projected lineup of Ntilikina/Hield/Johnson/Labissiere/Cauley-Stein one quarter every game to play their hearts out. Make it the second or third quarter. Then bring in the mediocre vets and make sure we lose. Ruthless? Probably. Unethical? It's a competitive league, nobody is dying here. We've got nothing but kids left anyway. They can lose like crazy for one year as long as it's productive losing. Draft our franchise center in 2018 and then take the training wheels off, see if we can shock the world in 2019. That's the end of the tank/rebuild forever for the next 10 years.
The idea is floated out there that this is a deep draft. It's not deep, its got a handful of players that could become real good. 2011 was deep with players like Kawhi, Klay, Butler all going well after we picked Jimmer. I could be wrong but I don't think your going to steal a Kawhi at 15 or a Butler at 30 this year let alone out of the top 10.
I love seeing our youth play with heart but we need to capitalize on one of these real good players. So my hope is Joerger is true to his word and lets the rookies play the majority of the minutes.
I love seeing our youth play with heart but we need to capitalize on one of these real good players. So my hope is Joerger is true to his word and lets the rookies play the majority of the minutes.
There are a couple guys that should be available that have the same skill set as Stanley Johnson, except they haven't sucked in the NBA yet. I'd rather try my hand at a slightly younger player who has a better chance at shooting better than 37% from the field. McLemore was trending better at the same point in his career than Stanley has. I don't see it at all with the guy and as impressive as his stats look (6'7" 245lbs) he still looks small on the court.
Unless you think Stanley Johnson can be more than a defensive specialist, if you are the Kings, you have, HAVE to go after a guy who can blossom into more. The Isaac kid with his length and skill set has the opportunity to be something really good or maybe he settles into a Brad Sellers underachiever type guy. I do think if you put his length with WCS and Skal, it could be intriguing.
As far as the PGs, I'd like any of them. I'm unsure of Monk as a PG. Sac doesn't need another tweener although his skill set is nice, if he can't play PG, that would be a major problem. Based only on the draftexpress vids, where everyone looks great on the highlights, Dennis Smith looks like a big time player. But I never watched him play in a game so the vids can be misleading at times but he looks explosive, looks like a modern NBA PG.
As far as the PGs, I'd like any of them. I'm unsure of Monk as a PG. Sac doesn't need another tweener although his skill set is nice, if he can't play PG, that would be a major problem. Based only on the draftexpress vids, where everyone looks great on the highlights, Dennis Smith looks like a big time player. But I never watched him play in a game so the vids can be misleading at times but he looks explosive, looks like a modern NBA PG.
Sure it's more likely that a star comes from a higher pick, but stars are taken outside the top 5 or top 10 all the time. Giannis, Kawhi, Paul George, Damien Lillard, Steph Curry, Gordon Hayward, and maybe Jimmy Butler are the guys I can think of off the top of my head who were picked outside the top 10 or top 5 who are all-stars or franchise level guys right now. I left out 2nd round but there are a couple of them too. We really just need to draft well. There are great players available anywhere in the draft so long as you have the patience and ability to develop them. I've never believed the Kings could do that in the past and I'm not completely sure they can now but I have more confidence then at any other point in the previous decade. I would also not be surprised at all to see the Kings make a move up in this draft to go get a guy they see as franchise talent. The ammunition to do it is there and and we have so many young guys as it is, I would be surprised if we end up with 4 more rookies (3 draft choices and Bogdanovic).
But all of that may not matter because of a certain micromanaging, restless owner who somehow finds away to always be the at the center of every story depicting the Kings as a dysfunctional mess.
But all of that may not matter because of a certain micromanaging, restless owner who somehow finds away to always be the at the center of every story depicting the Kings as a dysfunctional mess.
We don't need to keep adding more youth by trading down and adding a Stanley Johnson. Potentially we are adding the 2 first and the second rounder to Hield, Papa, Skal, Malachi....doesn't include young big WCS. And throw in the potential of adding Bogdanovich. We don't need even more youth as much as we need high end youths. Need to try and nail picks with potential stars or all-star material if possible
Stanley Johnson is 20 years old. He may not be the right prospect for us, but age has nothing to do with it. Buddy Hield is 23. So is Willie Cauley-Stein. The whole point of trading for Stanley Johnson would be that he's better than any of the prospects left on the board in the late lottery. If you believe that, than of course you trade for him. Trading a lottery pick for a young player (ie #8 last year for Bogdan Bogdanovic) is really the same thing as "nailing the pick" anyway if the player you trade for ends up being good isn't it? I just don't get your point of view at all. It sounds like you're saying that we have too many young players already so we need to keep our pick and draft an 18 year old instead of trading for a 20 year old? Huh? If we can draft an elite PG and an elite SF than absolutely that's what we should do but right now it's looking more like an either/or scenario and in that case I'll take a chance on a player I've already scouted in the past that I believe in rather than prospects I don't such as Malik Monk and Lauri Markkanen.
I cant wait for workouts and combines, I just wish I had a bit more faith in our scouting dept.
I want to see how Bridges looks in tryouts because he might surprise me. I think I get a bit caught up in the tweener label, is he more of a short PF or can he keep up with the long successful SF's. nbadraft.net compared him to Jerome Kersey. Now I know they also compared Ben to Ray Allen, but being a bit older than some I will take Kersey on my team any day of the week. He wasn't big for a forward but he did everything. I still think a 20 year old Stanley has not had the right opportunity to shine, but its probably a moot point anyways.
I want to see how Bridges looks in tryouts because he might surprise me. I think I get a bit caught up in the tweener label, is he more of a short PF or can he keep up with the long successful SF's. nbadraft.net compared him to Jerome Kersey. Now I know they also compared Ben to Ray Allen, but being a bit older than some I will take Kersey on my team any day of the week. He wasn't big for a forward but he did everything. I still think a 20 year old Stanley has not had the right opportunity to shine, but its probably a moot point anyways.
I use to really like Stanley Johnson too, but right now I'd consider him a very easy pass. The dude has been horrible. 37% from the field, 30% from 3, and 75% from the line is disgusting. He's been an ok defender, not as great as people hoped or thought he could be, but definitely ok. It's not like he hasn't received opportunity either. SVG has played him big minutes on many, many occasions and Stanley Johnson didn't take advantage of the opportunity. Right now I think I'd take a chance on a guy out of college with a high ceiling and question marks over a guy with a high ceiling who has just out right played bad in the NBA.
Numbers don't tell the whole story. Stanley Johnson didn't morph into a different type of player in 2 years time. His shots aren't dropping and there's an obvious problem with how he sets up his lower body which is probably causing that. Remember he started out his college career with similar shooting struggles and worked on it until he was a respectable 37% on 116 3pt attempts by the end of the season. There's an even bigger adjustment going to the NBA where the line moves back 3 feet. If you're not already an elite shooter coming in, it can take awhile to make that adjustment. Also, these college guys with high ceilings... it's important to note I think whether they have a high ceiling on offense or on defense (or both). Josh Jackson is a great prospect who impacts the game on both ends. If he's still on the board for us I would rush that pick in to the commish in record time. After that I don't see a single wing player in this draft who has a higher ceiling than Stanley Johnson does on defense. Every prospect has question marks -- picking one over the other often comes down to which skills you're targeting and which you're more comfortable trying to develop. If you're going to ignore a potentially elite defender because you don't like his shooting percentages in year 1 and year 2, well, you're probably the Sacramento Kings. And you deserve to be one of the worst defensive teams in the league every single year.
As always I very much enjoy your thoughts. I'm also still high on Johnson and would love him to complement our other guys in the future. The only aspect where I differ is that I'd take Fox over Ntilikina if both are available even if I like Ntilikina very much.
I also wonder about the possibility of us packaging our two first rounders to move up for a guy we like. If that's the case I would still try to trade for Johnson - my favorite scenario for å long time has been trading PapaG for Johnson because I feel SVG values the big greek guy very much. Now is that realistic? I dont know. But it's what I would try. It would also balance our roster: Fox-Hield-Johnson-Skal-Wcs is nice core. Add in a high secound rounder this year, a very high 2018 first rounder (Mo Bamba already looks to be a hell of a prospect) and Bogdan+Richardson and our rebuild is nearly complete before we even have to think about losing our 2019 pick.
I also wonder about the possibility of us packaging our two first rounders to move up for a guy we like. If that's the case I would still try to trade for Johnson - my favorite scenario for å long time has been trading PapaG for Johnson because I feel SVG values the big greek guy very much. Now is that realistic? I dont know. But it's what I would try. It would also balance our roster: Fox-Hield-Johnson-Skal-Wcs is nice core. Add in a high secound rounder this year, a very high 2018 first rounder (Mo Bamba already looks to be a hell of a prospect) and Bogdan+Richardson and our rebuild is nearly complete before we even have to think about losing our 2019 pick.
A week ago I was convinced of Fox over Ntilikina. Yesterday I liked the idea of Ntilikina a little more. I go back and forth so it's a virtual tie for me. I'd be thrilled to have either one of them as our PG of the future. Packaging picks and trading up might not be a bad idea. There are about 10 elite prospects in this draft but I'm much higher on some of them than others. Jackson, Fox, and Ntilikina are the best defenders in that group I think with Isaac and Fultz just a step below (both of those guys have big potential on defense too, they just don't show it in games as much right now). Tatum, Ball, Smith, Monk, and Markannen are guys that I would like to have of course if my top 5 players are off the board but I wouldn't be thrilled with them as I have some attitude/fit concerns about them. And with Miles Bridges I just don't know if he's an elite talent yet. I'm still deciding on where I would rank him.
But basically, I think we get our PG in the draft and try to acquire Johnson at the same time and then you do what you need to do to make sure we get one of the top bigs in next year's draft. That's a plan that I can see working out really well for us. It seems like SVG may be ready to move on from Stanley already judging by how he's cut his minutes this season and pulled him out of the rotation at times but it's hard to say. That guy always looks flustered, even when his team is winning. If we can trade a rookie contract player for him --- I'd also consider trading WCS and keeping PapaG --- I think that's a big win for us. Package the two picks if necessary to make sure we get the PG we want. We need a perimeter defender in a bad way and this would get us two perimeter defenders in our starting lineup. Depending on who we manage to draft in 2018, this could eventually be the best defensive team we've ever had in Sacramento. So for next year, I like this group too:
PG....Fox or Ntilikina
SG....Hield
SF....S. Johnson
PF....Labissiere
C......Cauley-Stein
As for 2018's bigman class -- if all these prospects stay in the draft it'd be the best bigman draft I can remember. Mohamed Bamba looks like he could be really good, skinny frame but he's got like a 9'5" standing reach and he's quick off his feet. There's also DeAndre Ayton who's huge and has range on his jumper already. He's playing for a great coaching staff at Arizona next year, it should be fun to watch his progress. I don't think he's picked a school yet, but there's a So Cal kid Brandon McCoy who'll be in the lottery next year. There's an Australian big man Jacob Epperson who's going to Creighton next year. And then there's carryovers from this year, Robert Williams who was really impressive as a Freshman and even Chimezie Metu who had a great year for USC showing a dramatically improved jumper and toughness defending the interior. Mock drafts also have Wendell Carter going to Duke, Mitchell Robinson going to Western Kentucky, Nick Richards going to Kentucky, and a huge Brazilian kid Felipe dos Anjos who's got Papagiannis size and might be in the draft next year. I haven't had a chance to watch most of these kids yet but that's a big pool of talent to pull from. Should be exciting watching them all play next year.
But basically, I think we get our PG in the draft and try to acquire Johnson at the same time and then you do what you need to do to make sure we get one of the top bigs in next year's draft. That's a plan that I can see working out really well for us. It seems like SVG may be ready to move on from Stanley already judging by how he's cut his minutes this season and pulled him out of the rotation at times but it's hard to say. That guy always looks flustered, even when his team is winning. If we can trade a rookie contract player for him --- I'd also consider trading WCS and keeping PapaG --- I think that's a big win for us. Package the two picks if necessary to make sure we get the PG we want. We need a perimeter defender in a bad way and this would get us two perimeter defenders in our starting lineup. Depending on who we manage to draft in 2018, this could eventually be the best defensive team we've ever had in Sacramento. So for next year, I like this group too:
PG....Fox or Ntilikina
SG....Hield
SF....S. Johnson
PF....Labissiere
C......Cauley-Stein
As for 2018's bigman class -- if all these prospects stay in the draft it'd be the best bigman draft I can remember. Mohamed Bamba looks like he could be really good, skinny frame but he's got like a 9'5" standing reach and he's quick off his feet. There's also DeAndre Ayton who's huge and has range on his jumper already. He's playing for a great coaching staff at Arizona next year, it should be fun to watch his progress. I don't think he's picked a school yet, but there's a So Cal kid Brandon McCoy who'll be in the lottery next year. There's an Australian big man Jacob Epperson who's going to Creighton next year. And then there's carryovers from this year, Robert Williams who was really impressive as a Freshman and even Chimezie Metu who had a great year for USC showing a dramatically improved jumper and toughness defending the interior. Mock drafts also have Wendell Carter going to Duke, Mitchell Robinson going to Western Kentucky, Nick Richards going to Kentucky, and a huge Brazilian kid Felipe dos Anjos who's got Papagiannis size and might be in the draft next year. I haven't had a chance to watch most of these kids yet but that's a big pool of talent to pull from. Should be exciting watching them all play next year.
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Bleacher Report just put out a mock draft that I found interesting. It has us taking Fox at 7, New York takes Frank at 6. as hrdboild said, Phil Jackson will like Frank for the triangle. Fortunately Monk goes to the 76ers pushing two good PG's back.
I'm always looking for the unknown guy who will climb once workouts start and am somewhat intrigued by Terrance Ferguson. Hes a 3 and D SF plays for Adelaide Australia. BR recons he will impress come workouts and have him going top 20 to OKC.
update: now reading on another site hes pretty light weight so may be more suited as a 6'7" SG.
I'm always looking for the unknown guy who will climb once workouts start and am somewhat intrigued by Terrance Ferguson. Hes a 3 and D SF plays for Adelaide Australia. BR recons he will impress come workouts and have him going top 20 to OKC.
update: now reading on another site hes pretty light weight so may be more suited as a 6'7" SG.
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I've been watching more of Miles Bridges today. There's a lot to like about this kid -- I actually think he might be top 6 for me. He's got an NBA ready frame already, his skill level and athleticism are top notch, and he's got a competitive edge to him which I love to see. I don't know why he's been ranked as late lottery in so many mocks. He's been billed as a tweener forward but 39% from three as a Freshman is pretty damn good and he's obviously got the handle and body control to face up and drive from the perimeter. Maybe not crazy Tyreke level handles but he makes quick cuts and his off-the-dribble spin moves remind me of Paul Pierce -- sometimes sloppy looking but usually effective. I see strength, athleticism, attitude, and a well-developed skillset. That's superstar potential to me. Sometimes we get too focused on ideal size -- I'll take a Bonzi Wells style wrecking ball of athletic energy on the wing any day of the week.
Fultz, Fox, and Ntilikina are the PGs I like the most and Jackson, Isaac, and now Bridges are the SFs I like the most in this draft. Others have said this already about Bridges (M_Barragan, 206Fan (twice), The Jamal, funkykingston (twice), OptimusRhyme) but you can add me to his growing fan club.
Fultz, Fox, and Ntilikina are the PGs I like the most and Jackson, Isaac, and now Bridges are the SFs I like the most in this draft. Others have said this already about Bridges (M_Barragan, 206Fan (twice), The Jamal, funkykingston (twice), OptimusRhyme) but you can add me to his growing fan club.
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A fair point. Bridges was also a better scorer in his one year at Michigan State than Stanley was in his one year at Arizona (though it's close, Johnson got to the free throw line more while Bridges was a more prolific 3pt shooter). I like both of them. Let's draft Bridges and trade for Stanley Johnson. Problem solved! 
Yeah, hes high energy for sure, everything I have seen hes involved in the play. Again living overseas I don't see as many college games as I once did so I go off highlight videos and buy into tweener labels etc.. Not always the best way to determine talent and thats why I want this season over so we can see how some of theses players look in workouts. Bridges has a solid build and great facial expression, like I'm having fun and I'm serious at the same time. I need to find an interview video.
Anyways, with that 7 or 8th pick I think we can get our SG, top priority. Hopefully Frank or Fox. Bridges wont likely last til our 2nd pick so we need a SF backup plan.
Anyways, with that 7 or 8th pick I think we can get our SG, top priority. Hopefully Frank or Fox. Bridges wont likely last til our 2nd pick so we need a SF backup plan.
I hope we come away with a good PG with our first pick. If the second pick falls out of the top 10, what about "reaching" or trading back for OG Anunoby? His injury in January was unfortunate, but I still really like him as a SF prospect. He has really good defensive potential and physical attributes. If he declares for the draft and the better known SF's are gone, I hope he is considered.
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