Players that I would target with the 9th pick:
- Thread starter bajaden
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I'm fine with Wagner if we keep the pick. I wouldn't mind rolling the dice on some of the other options but only if we gained a second pick. I have a feeling once the first 10 picks are made and teams realize their "perfect project" won't slide to their spot we can make a minor deal to get one. I know that Hali has taken a shine to Ziaire Williams and if he's there when OKC is picking I'd like to see what can be done.
I would imagine ZW could swing between 2-3 and FW between 3-4. It could hurt their minutes but I don't think either projects to start right away. Would Buddy net two picks from OKC then you can take a big with the other pick? I don't know. Then you hope one or two emerges as starting quality. If we can't make a homerun trade then I think getting guys who can actually play and maybe grow or be moved in a future package is key.
No easy answers with this squad unfortunately.
No easy answers with this squad unfortunately.
It's actually impossible to have too many big wings in the NBA. Collect as many as possible and if they all become good, you have an incredibly valuable trading chip.
Agree with PDX though that I think Williams is gonna defend up 1-3 while Wagner will be more so the 3-4. Considering Barnes is the only playable 3/4 on the roster right now, I'd say stacking that position is a good idea.
Agree with PDX though that I think Williams is gonna defend up 1-3 while Wagner will be more so the 3-4. Considering Barnes is the only playable 3/4 on the roster right now, I'd say stacking that position is a good idea.
Yeah, the Kings desperately need the 3-4 types above all else and going with the Harkless/GR3 types won't cut it. That's bargain basement fellas. Look at these finals. The Bucks played 1 true center, and the Suns played Ayton who is more of an Amare type of center if anything. You have to have a crop of those guys in that 3-4 range now more than ever. With Delon, Fox, Haliburton, maybe a returning Davis and Buddy the 1-3 types are more than covered.
Sengun plays with a powerful, lower base. You can see that in his spin moves. So he looks shorter on film. Contrast that with our recent bigs like Willie, Bags, and Holmes. They tend to play more upright, less powerful, so look more like their true heights. I think Sengun would be a steal at 9. Don’t think he makes it pass GSW though.
I still think Orlando takes him with the eighth pick but I also won’t be shocked if he falls to say the Spurs.
I watched the “Film Session with Mike Schmitz” Sengun did and the thing that stood out to me is how he talked about rebounding. He says he studies the trajectory of the shot and anticipates where the missed shot will go. Rodman talked a lot about that and was one of the reasons he was elite despite his size. That says something about this young man IMO. Those aren’t things a lot of 18 years olds are pondering.
I watched the “Film Session with Mike Schmitz” Sengun did and the thing that stood out to me is how he talked about rebounding. He says he studies the trajectory of the shot and anticipates where the missed shot will go. Rodman talked a lot about that and was one of the reasons he was elite despite his size. That says something about this young man IMO. Those aren’t things a lot of 18 years olds are pondering.
I'm not confident that Sengun's stock is as high as that. In an ESPN article on Green Room invites (link), Givony says Sengun was among the last five (of 20) invited to the Green room, which suggests that NBA teams, on average, don't see him in the top 15 of the draft. It only takes one team, but consensus seems to have him just outside of the lottery.
I try to think BPA but it's hard not to see Fox and Haliburton as the only true building blocks and envision the fit of any drafted player with those two.
It's why I'm largely focused on wings (ideally of the 3/4 variety more than the 2/3 variety) and bigs. And it's why my list of top targets at #9 (assuming Barnes doesn't drop) includes Jalen Johnson, Moses Moody, Sengun, and Franz Wagner as well as Bouknight. Kuminga (who I think will fall) and Kai Jones are also on my radar, but they both concern me a lot more than the others on my list.
It's why I'm largely focused on wings (ideally of the 3/4 variety more than the 2/3 variety) and bigs. And it's why my list of top targets at #9 (assuming Barnes doesn't drop) includes Jalen Johnson, Moses Moody, Sengun, and Franz Wagner as well as Bouknight. Kuminga (who I think will fall) and Kai Jones are also on my radar, but they both concern me a lot more than the others on my list.
Sengun has a feel for the game that you don't see in 18 year olds. The rebounding, the footwork, the passing are all top notch and he's battling grown men in the post.
I think in time he'll also be a good outside shooter. I have the same concerns as everyone else about his size/length, and foot speed on defense. But I think he'll find a way to be a very productive NBA player.
I think in time he'll also be a good outside shooter. I have the same concerns as everyone else about his size/length, and foot speed on defense. But I think he'll find a way to be a very productive NBA player.
“Three things have consistently come up when discussing what the Kings are thinking with sources around the league. First, that they would love to take a bigger wing/forward. Second, that defense is important to them in this pick. And third, that analytics will play a bigger role here than in other situations league-wide, given Monte McNair’s background and ownership’s emphasis on being data-driven.” Sam V
The thing about Sengun is that I’m not sure whether he’ll be Carl Landry productive (superb post scorer with some range who is also too small and slow laterally to make much of an impact defensively) or Domatas Sabonis productive (All-Star post player who is the centerpiece of his team’s offense and tries hard enough on defense nose to not get obliterated on every possession). If he’s the latter, he still doesn’t fit with Fox and Tyrese but is at least good enough to largely ignore it. If he’s the former, we’d just have spent a pick on a worse Marvin Bagley.
I would say Kanter is a better comparison than Landry in terms of style, if projecting him as an offensive non-defender with limited impact at the next level. I believe he will be closer to Sabonis. I think it will take him a year or two to get stronger but I believe in his talent and would be happy with him as our pick. I still have Jalen Johnson top of my board though, if he's there.
Kanter’s bigger than Sengun though. While Kanter has legit big man size, Sengun’d probably be among the smaller bigs (at least in terms of players who’d be classified as big men in the modern league) in the league though it’s hard to tell without him playing because he didn’t go to the draft combine and I’m not sure how up-to-date his current measurements are. Sengun is to his credit probably a more crafty player than Kanter who has sorta turned into bad-at-defense Steven Adams as he’s matured.
Yeah that's a terrific comp with Kanter, although really in the end both and Carl were/are kind of offensive punch bigs so the use is the same. The only thing about Sabonis is he seems to be a more graceful and bouncier athlete. He seems a bit quicker off pick and roll as a finisher and on his moves. Sengun isn't bad but that little lag can make all the difference.
The only issue I've seen when watching Besitkas games is that Sengun really uses the style to his advantage. He has terrible footwork defensively and an iffy motor himself at times. Especially when it comes to run outs. The main problem is he uses his body as a deterrent on help moving into offensive players which he will get a quick chain in the NBA doing that.
I think his biggest issue on defense is the poor footwork defensively, and that he does seem to take plays off on that end. Does he take plays off because of his offensive load? I don't know. But if he works on those two things I think he good be, at a minimum, a good enough defender considering his top tier abilities on offense.