Players that I would target with the 9th pick:

bajaden

Hall of Famer
#31
Corey Kispert: SF, 6'7", 225 Lb's, 22.5 years old, Senior, Gonzaga.
31.8 mpg - 18.6 ppg - 52.9% fgp - 44.0% 3pp - 87% ftp - 5.0 rpg - 1.8 apg

Let me be clear from the beginning, Kispert is not an elite athlete. He's an average athlete but a very smart one. Kyle (slow mo) Anderson isn't a great athlete either. Neither is his running mate Dillon Brooks, or Stephen Curry, or Luka Doncic, or Trey Young. The knock on Larry Bird coming out of college was that he was a slow footed player who couldn't jump. Turned out he was a very good defensive player because he was smart. All those players listed were very skilled, and in some cases their other skills far outweighed their defensive liabilities. Think Trey Young.

If I were to comp Kispert I would say that he's a cross between Joe Harris and JJ Redick. Kispert was the best shooter in college basketball last season, and he's been consistent most of his four years at Gonzaga. Freshman year 35.1% - Sophomore year 37.4% - Junior year 43.8% - Senior year 44.0%. And he averaged 6.4 three's a game this past season. His last two games of the year were two of his worse, and there's no doubt that he didn't adjust to the defensive scheme by both UCLA and Baylor, but am I supposed to ignore everything he accomplished prior to that. That's ridiculous!

Make no mistake, Kispert was the number one option on Gonzaga, and both UCLA and Baylor wisely decided that he wasn't going to beat them. On a team like the Kings, he's likely to be the number four option, maybe number three. I doubt any team is going to make him the focus of their defense. Kispert can score from anywhere on the floor, and he can score with either hand at the basket. As I stated earlier, he's a very smart player. He doesn't try and do what he's not capable of. He doesn't force things, and he's the ultimate team player. He's an awesome off the ball player, constantly moving and sliding into the open spot on the floor. As another comp, Kyle Korver comes to mind as well.

Kispert is a pretty good passer as well. Once again, he makes the safe pass and doesn't try to be Magic Johnson. Defensively, my main criticism with him, and its something he can't do anything about, is his lack of length. Kispert has very good lateral quickness and does a good job of keeping his man in front of him, but when posted up, he struggles against taller longer players. He's in good defensive position, but just not long enough at times. If he gets beat defensively, it's not for lack of effort. If you take the time to watch some of his games, you'll notice that in transition defense, Kispert is the first one back on defense about 80% of the time.

Effort is one of the things Kispert excels at. Kispert is a smart, tough, hardnosed player with a non stop motor. He's proven to be very durable as well. He already has an NBA body. I think he can be a better defensive player than many project when he improves his technic. Who knew that Dillon Brooks would be as good a defender as he's turned out to be. Kispert has many of Brooks attributes. Similar size, toughness, strength, and a non stop motor. Will he be that good? Don't know, but if he's half as good defensively, I'll be happy.


Here's a video of Kispert's tournament highlights. Obviously it doesn't show his misses in the last two games against UCLA and Baylor, but it does show that he still scored, although with less efficiency..

 
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bajaden

Hall of Famer
#32
The games that I watched Wagner closely, he just didn't pop. Watching more film on him recently have me seeing more of his talent and I now project him to be a Joe Ingles type. I don't see the handles that Hayward or Luka has. The main difference between Giddey and Wagoner is their handle, which is why I project him higher. Wagoner the better defender (elite? I don't see that) while Giddey the more multi-faceted offensive threat.

As for Kispert, I've seen him about 6 times. Against WCC and against high level D1 athletes. Against the WCC, Gonzaga pretty much ran through everyone. Better athletes, a ton of spacing, because opposing WCC teams were scrambling to deal with the stache, Ayai, and Suggs. Against UCLA and Baylor, he couldn't get his shot off and was targeted on defense (especially by UCLA). He's essentially Jason Kapono and should be a second rounder. Some mocks have rightfully dropped him into the mid/late teens. Should be lower. I think Juzang and Jaquez are better long term prospects than Kispert--and I think Juzang and Jaquez will end up being something like what Andres Nocioni was (that is, average, at best, NBA wings).

As for Donsumu, he's plug and play from day 1 and should be drafted ahead of Kispert. Like a full round ahead. Being an older player is a concern, but if the Kings can get two solid contracts from a late first that would still be levels greater than what they've gotten from Bags and other high lotto picks.
Look, I realize that your biased against Gonzaga. I know that Gonzaga kicks your teams butt every year, and you hate everything Gonzaga, but your letting your bias affect your judgement when it comes to Kispert. If you want to disagree with me on whether Kispert belongs in my ten players or not, that's fine. But to call him a second rounder is just pure nonsense. I sort of agree with you on Juzang, but I'm not sold on Jaquez.
 
#33
The games that I watched Wagner closely, he just didn't pop. Watching more film on him recently have me seeing more of his talent and I now project him to be a Joe Ingles type. I don't see the handles that Hayward or Luka has. The main difference between Giddey and Wagoner is their handle, which is why I project him higher. Wagoner the better defender (elite? I don't see that) while Giddey the more multi-faceted offensive threat.

As for Kispert, I've seen him about 6 times. Against WCC and against high level D1 athletes. Against the WCC, Gonzaga pretty much ran through everyone. Better athletes, a ton of spacing, because opposing WCC teams were scrambling to deal with the stache, Ayai, and Suggs. Against UCLA and Baylor, he couldn't get his shot off and was targeted on defense (especially by UCLA). He's essentially Jason Kapono and should be a second rounder. Some mocks have rightfully dropped him into the mid/late teens. Should be lower. I think Juzang and Jaquez are better long term prospects than Kispert--and I think Juzang and Jaquez will end up being something like what Andres Nocioni was (that is, average, at best, NBA wings).

As for Donsumu, he's plug and play from day 1 and should be drafted ahead of Kispert. Like a full round ahead. Being an older player is a concern, but if the Kings can get two solid contracts from a late first that would still be levels greater than what they've gotten from Bags and other high lotto picks.
Do you mean that Ingles is his ceiling? If I could draft a young Ingles at 9 I'd do it in a heart beat but I feel like that's his ceiling and he's not likely to be as good as Ingles.

Agreed on Kispert. Wouldn't draft him in the first round either.

I'm not as high on Ayo but I think he could be a Shake Milton type right off the bat.
 
#35
The games that I watched Wagner closely, he just didn't pop. Watching more film on him recently have me seeing more of his talent and I now project him to be a Joe Ingles type. I don't see the handles that Hayward or Luka has. The main difference between Giddey and Wagoner is their handle, which is why I project him higher. Wagoner the better defender (elite? I don't see that) while Giddey the more multi-faceted offensive threat.

As for Kispert, I've seen him about 6 times. Against WCC and against high level D1 athletes. Against the WCC, Gonzaga pretty much ran through everyone. Better athletes, a ton of spacing, because opposing WCC teams were scrambling to deal with the stache, Ayai, and Suggs. Against UCLA and Baylor, he couldn't get his shot off and was targeted on defense (especially by UCLA). He's essentially Jason Kapono and should be a second rounder. Some mocks have rightfully dropped him into the mid/late teens. Should be lower. I think Juzang and Jaquez are better long term prospects than Kispert--and I think Juzang and Jaquez will end up being something like what Andres Nocioni was (that is, average, at best, NBA wings).

As for Donsumu, he's plug and play from day 1 and should be drafted ahead of Kispert. Like a full round ahead. Being an older player is a concern, but if the Kings can get two solid contracts from a late first that would still be levels greater than what they've gotten from Bags and other high lotto picks.
Why is this bad? Joe Ingles has been the best role player in the NBA the last 5 seasons and a huge reason why Utah is so good. Wagner would be an amazing pick if he could have 75% of the impact that Ingles does
 
#36
Look, I realize that your biased against Gonzaga. I know that Gonzaga kicks your teams butt every year, and you hate everything Gonzaga, but your letting your bias affect your judgement when it comes to Kispert. If you want to disagree with me on whether Kispert belongs in my ten players or not, that's fine. But to call him a second rounder is just pure nonsense. I sort of agree with you on Juzang, but I'm not sold on Jaquez.
So just to be clear, my team is UCLA...then SCU. If Gonzaga killed UCLA each year, you'd be right that I have a grudge, but SCU losing to the Zags is usually met with an oh well response from me. Though I root for both, my heart follows the undergrad team rather than the grad team.

As for Kispert, I just don't rate him as high as you. I see Jason Kapono, which is a back handed compliment. 7 or so years in the NBA is life changing for anyone. My view of Kispert has been consistent all year, so it's not like it's anything new.
 
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#37
Do you mean that Ingles is his ceiling? If I could draft a young Ingles at 9 I'd do it in a heart beat but I feel like that's his ceiling and he's not likely to be as good as Ingles.

Agreed on Kispert. Wouldn't draft him in the first round either.

I'm not as high on Ayo but I think he could be a Shake Milton type right off the bat.
Yea, Ingles is Wagoner's ceiling. Ayo as Milton makes some sense though I see him as a higher level player long term. Squint hard enough and with the right development and he can be a poor man's Doug.
 
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#38
Why is this bad? Joe Ingles has been the best role player in the NBA the last 5 seasons and a huge reason why Utah is so good. Wagner would be an amazing pick if he could have 75% of the impact that Ingles does
Because I'd rather the Kings shoot for the moon than for Australia with the 9th (hopefully earlier) pick.
 

Capt. Factorial

trifolium contra tempestatem subrigere certum est
Staff member
#41
I'd go Bags over Luka crazy if the Kings moved up and they picked Wagoner.
I'm pretty sure there are only 5 players in this draft that have even a remote chance of being picked in the top 4. Wagner doesn't even have to show up to the Green Room at Barclay's until the sixth round.
 
#45
Wagner is one of those quiet defenders. He's not spectacular, but always in the right place to help, or stop the ball. He's able to keep his man in front of him. He has all the tools to be a very good player both defensively and offensively. By the way, Dosunmu is one of my favorite players in the draft, and the only reason he's not on my list (once again he came close) is because of his age. He'll be 22 years old next Jan. I think he's deserving of being a lottery pick, but I doubt he will be as a three year player. I think Dosunmu has a very high floor, but I'm unsure about his ceiling. He's a hot and cold shooter. I see him as a solid NBA player, but not a star. Nothing wrong with that though.
FYI.

Someone made a video about Wagner's defense and thought I'd share.


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#46
Baja, am I nuts for buying into the Alperen Sengun hype? He looks to me like a kid who likes to bang with a ton of perimeter offensive potential. If we are drafting at 9 or 10 - he looks like he checks a lot of boxes (assuming Moody is not there).

Please don’t speculate on whether I am nuts for other reasons.
 
#47
Baja, am I nuts for buying into the Alperen Sengun hype? He looks to me like a kid who likes to bang with a ton of perimeter offensive potential. If we are drafting at 9 or 10 - he looks like he checks a lot of boxes (assuming Moody is not there).

Please don’t speculate on whether I am nuts for other reasons.
I believe that being a long time Kings' fan comes with the requirement of being a little nuts.
 

SacTownKid

Hall of Famer
#48
Baja, am I nuts for buying into the Alperen Sengun hype? He looks to me like a kid who likes to bang with a ton of perimeter offensive potential. If we are drafting at 9 or 10 - he looks like he checks a lot of boxes (assuming Moody is not there).

Please don’t speculate on whether I am nuts for other reasons.
How the heck does he fit in with Fox and the rest though? He has to go to the right team. He is more developed than Paga G and actually showed the things Papa G showed in workouts in game but they look similar.

Speaking of Papa G. The Kings might have wanted to give it a little more time before giving up on the kid. They should have left him overseas for a bit.


 
#50
Speaking of Papa G. The Kings might have wanted to give it a little more time before giving up on the kid. They should have left him overseas for a bit.
Wonder if the way forward with big men isn't either drafting upperclassmen in the second round or getting rights to guys who will play in Europe for 2-3 years before signing. Seems like even though highly skilled players can contribute when they'd still be college sophomores or juniors, bigs need to reach 25 or so before they can actually do what is expected of them physically unless you just want bigs bombing 3s.
 
#51
Fit with Fox = I think he’ll develop into a good 3 point shooter. And you need to clean the glass before you can run. Our defensive rebounding has been crap for a long time.

Not every starter has to run with Fox. But someone has to guard the legit centers.

But I am concerned about Sengun’s measurements. If he’s not a legit 6-10 with a good wingspan, hard pass in the lottery.
 
#52
After reading about Alperen Sengun, and watching a lot of tape on him, I've jumped on the bandwagon.

Everyone knows about his incredible footwork/post scoring. He has a very high basketball iq. His playmaking ability is quite good. He averages 4 offensive rebounds per game, which ties him for first place. Sengun averages over 6 free-throws a game, putting him in second place, and shoots them at 81%. On top of that he is averaging 19 points a game, which puts him at number 3.

Sengun is top 5 in scoring, rebounding, and blockshots per game. He is top 15 in steals per game, and the only big man in the top 15. He does all of this while also only being 18.

With his high freethrow percentage, and non-broken looking shot form, I don't see why he can't eventually develop at least a respectable 3 point shot. He has a slow release and shoots the ball a little early, but the form looks pure.

Sengun's defense is raw, but he's not hopeless. He is not freakishly athletic, but he does move well laterally and has a quick jump. He can get up for rebounds pretty well off of two feet. Two things he seems to do pretty well is maintain verticality and help on the weakside. I don't think he will ever be first team defensive, but he could probably be somewhere between average and good.

His height is somewhat of a mystery, the best I've been able to find is that he has probably grown an inch to 6'10" with a 7 foot wingspan. And if that is true then he might not even be there by the time we pick at 9 or 10. For reference, here he is standing next to Mehmet Okur:

 
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SacTownKid

Hall of Famer
#55
Wonder if the way forward with big men isn't either drafting upperclassmen in the second round or getting rights to guys who will play in Europe for 2-3 years before signing. Seems like even though highly skilled players can contribute when they'd still be college sophomores or juniors, bigs need to reach 25 or so before they can actually do what is expected of them physically unless you just want bigs bombing 3s.
Especially when they are still a little soft and gooey coming in.
 

SacTownKid

Hall of Famer
#56
After reading about Alperen Sengun, and watching a lot of tape on him, I've jumped on the bandwagon.

Everyone knows about his incredible footwork/post scoring. He has a very high basketball iq. His playmaking ability is quite good. He averages 4 offensive rebounds per game, which ties him for first place. Sengun averages over 6 free-throws a game, putting him in second place, and shoots them at 81%. On top of that he is averaging 19 points a game, which puts him at number 3.

Sengun is top 5 in scoring, rebounding, and blockshots per game. He is top 15 in steals per game, and the only big man in the top 15. He does all of this while also only being 18.

With his high freethrow percentage, and non-broken looking shot form, I don't see why he can't eventually develop at least a respectable 3 point shot. He has a slow release and shoots the ball a little early, but the form looks pure.

Sengun's defense is raw, but he's not hopeless. He is not freakishly athletic, but he does move well laterally and has a quick jump. He can get up for rebounds pretty well off of two feet. Two things he seems to do pretty well is maintain verticality and help on the weakside. I don't think he will ever be first team defensive, but he could probably be somewhere between average and good.

His height is somewhat of a mystery, the best I've been able to find is that he has probably grown an inch to 6'10" with a 7 foot wingspan. And if that is true then he might not even be there by the time we pick at 9 or 10. For reference, here he is standing next to Mehmet Okur:

Okur is actually a pretty decent comp too.
 

SacTownKid

Hall of Famer
#57
Problem is we don’t need another project big and there are several guys in our range that fit the mold of defensive wing from Wagner to Jalen Johnson to Moody
The other thing is this teams recent history with skill bigs that need developing is HORRIBLE. I repeat, HORRIBLE. There are some decent wings at that pick that it would be hard for the Kings to screw up and that alone is a major factor. I don't think Moody has tremendous upside compared to some others but there are a lot of players of his ilk helping teams in the playoffs right now. Now Sengun could be the next Jokic with the right franchise but if he isn't, his types hit that Zeller/Plumlee level pretty quick.
 
#58
After reading about Alperen Sengun, and watching a lot of tape on him, I've jumped on the bandwagon.

Everyone knows about his incredible footwork/post scoring. He has a very high basketball iq. His playmaking ability is quite good. He averages 4 offensive rebounds per game, which ties him for first place. Sengun averages over 6 free-throws a game, putting him in second place, and shoots them at 81%. On top of that he is averaging 19 points a game, which puts him at number 3.

Sengun is top 5 in scoring, rebounding, and blockshots per game. He is top 15 in steals per game, and the only big man in the top 15. He does all of this while also only being 18.

With his high freethrow percentage, and non-broken looking shot form, I don't see why he can't eventually develop at least a respectable 3 point shot. He has a slow release and shoots the ball a little early, but the form looks pure.

Sengun's defense is raw, but he's not hopeless. He is not freakishly athletic, but he does move well laterally and has a quick jump. He can get up for rebounds pretty well off of two feet. Two things he seems to do pretty well is maintain verticality and help on the weakside. I don't think he will ever be first team defensive, but he could probably be somewhere between average and good.

His height is somewhat of a mystery, the best I've been able to find is that he has probably grown an inch to 6'10" with a 7 foot wingspan. And if that is true then he might not even be there by the time we pick at 9 or 10. For reference, here he is standing next to Mehmet Okur:

I like what I have read about Sengun as well. I have seen several takes from different people who have started off "I didn't think I would like him that much" and finished "he could actually be a good pick". I think his production in a professional league is great. His offensive skill set seems like it could fit the Kings well. For me - without having seen him play beyond the scouting videos floating around the web - the question mark is his defense. If it's good enough (or can become good enough) for him to stay on the floor during the playoffs, then a lottery pick is easily justifiable.
 
#60
Do you think he develops the shot too? That changes quite a bit if he can be 35%
I do. And I think he can be better than that. The jump in his free throw percentage has been dramatic. That’s the best data I have to go on. And I may be overhyping the one step back 3 he’s ever hit in a game - but I did not expect that from an 18-year-old center. He hasn’t shot a lot of 3’s in games - not his role - so a ton of conjecture on my part.