Who is available as 6th-7th pick

I am completely lost on this draft. I feel like there might be some surprises on draft day, and I really don't know who the Kings should pick. I like Burke, but I usually don't have faith in rookie PGs. I do like Karasev from what I have seen and read up on him, but he has a skinny frame and am not sure if he could contribute right away. Bennett makes me nervous as a PF because he is undersized and I am really tired of seeing undersized players on the Kings roster. Oladipo is the one I really want and would love to be able to trade up to get him. I would give up MT/Jimmer/IT/Chuck (pretty much anyone not named Tyreke or Cousins) to get Oladipo. Put Tyreke back at the one, Cousins in the post, and you go to free agency to get a SF.
 

hrdboild

Moloch in whom I dream Angels!
Staff member
Actually, now that I think about it, we might have enough to make a trade with Charlotte to move up and grab Oladipo. Depending on who they want in the draft of course. But falling 3 spots to 7 if they're targeting Len or Zeller or Bennett or someone else and picking up a veteran along the way isn't a bad deal for them. They've been known to make draft day trades in the past. We could include Thornton or Thompson or IT or Jimmer. They need frontcourt depth and 3pt shooting. At #4 they know they're not getting McLemore or Noel. They don't need Porter after picking Kidd-Gilchrist second overall last year and Jeff Taylor in the 2nd round so really it's just down to who they like the most. It's not inconceivable that they would fall in love with one of the centers and consider trading down. Heck, maybe we get them to throw in Biyombo too and solve two problems at once. Probably wishful thinking, but I'll give it a try:

Kings trade:

#7 (Alex Len)
Jason Thompson (5.6 million)

Bobcats/Hornets trade:

#4 (Victor Oladipo)
Bismack Biyombo (3 million)

Contracts don't match but our payroll is at $42 million even before we amnesty Salmons and Charlotte is at $41 million so it shouldn't matter. They get an upgrade to their frontcourt, we get an upgrade to our defense and a little bit of long-term salary relief for the new front office to work with. I have a feeling that throwing in Thompson won't be popular here, but Gerald Henderson played pretty well for them at SG last year and we have to give up something to move up 3 spots. This only matters if our new front office wants Oladipo as badly as we do though.
 
Bennett will be gone, too many teams before us could use the offensive firepower that he'd bring, especially at the 4. If he's on the board, he's BPA by far, but I think his strength is at PF, and he and Cousins would make a very poor defensive frontcourt. We can only only hope that Burke will fall to us, and it's possible if the Magic pass on him, but I wouldn't hold my breath. If not Burke, then I want Schroeder as of right now, he's got all the tools, and he's got confidence too.
Would you mind enlightening me on Schroeder? I have read up on him a bit and understand that he is quite quick and knows how to play the PG role well, but isn't exactly what you call strong and built for a PG. What are his major strengths that you know of and most importantly, do you believe he can be the starting PG and help lead this team?
 
this was taken from the Mock Draft that is on NBA.com.


"7. Kings, Cody Zeller, Indiana, PF-C, 7-0, 240
Say goodbye, DeMarcus Cousins. Zeller doesn't have nearly the upside as DMC as the Kings move in a fresh direction under new ownership, but Zeller also isn't nearly the, um, headache."


if this happens, im going to be downright PISSED OFF.
1: now while im not opposed to the idea of pairing Zeller WITH Cousins in the frontcourt, i would hate to see Cousins replaced by Zeller
2: if we give up on DeMarcus before he gets a chance to play under new ownership/coaching, that is a HUGE mistake
 
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Would you mind enlightening me on Schroeder? I have read up on him a bit and understand that he is quite quick and knows how to play the PG role well, but isn't exactly what you call strong and built for a PG. What are his major strengths that you know of and most importantly, do you believe he can be the starting PG and help lead this team?

Not completely up to date, but gives you a good breakdown.
 
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VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
this was taken from the Mock Draft that is on NBA.com.


"7. Kings, Cody Zeller, Indiana, PF-C, 7-0, 240
Say goodbye, DeMarcus Cousins. Zeller doesn't have nearly the upside as DMC as the Kings move in a fresh direction under new ownership, but Zeller also isn't nearly the, um, headache."


if this happens, im going to be downright PISSED OFF.
1: now while im not opposed to the idea of pairing Zeller WITH Cousins in the frontcourt, i would hate to see Cousins replaced by Zeller
2: if we give up on DeMarcus before he gets a chance to play under new ownership/coaching, that is a HUGE mistake
Mock drafts aren't indicative of anything other than one person's attempt to be witty and wise at the same time. In this case, whoever wrote that hit neither.
 

Not completely up to date, but gives you a good breakdown.
Appreciate it! So he is quick, but he may or may not be able to shoot at this time (draftexpress has no stats on him). The one thing that concerns me is that playmaking was not mentioned (apart from pick and roll play). His stock will depend greatly on workouts. After the first 5 or so players, this entire draft seems to be up in the air.
 
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hrdboild

Moloch in whom I dream Angels!
Staff member
Would Charlotte be interested in Thornton? And would they want to dump Tyrus Thomas' deal? If so that might be the basis of a trade up for us.
Yeah. those are both options too. I originally had Thornton in the trade until I saw that Henderson was their second leading scorer last year. His 3pt percentage isn't good though and the team overall struggled in that area so Thornton could still be a good fit for them. Plus he and Thomas have comparable contracts. I'd still make that trade. Oladipo is a much better fit for us and Tyrus Thomas has been productive in short stretches and is the right type of player to add to our frontcourt if he's responsive to a new team environment.
 

hrdboild

Moloch in whom I dream Angels!
Staff member
Lol, twitter is blowing up with pick+ player for Cuz. I guess everyone assume he is being dumped?
That's the national storyline -- we need to dump Cousins, find a playmaker PG, replace Tyreke and basically start over. No surprise other NBA fans are following the trail of breadcrumbs. We probably look equally silly at times trying to devise plans for poaching other team's players based on limited information.

That's an interesting thought about Orlando and Charlotte swapping picks. Cleveland has to first take Noel and then Orlando has to like Burke enough to pass on McLemore. If that does happen we still need both Phoenix and New Orleans to draft Anthony Bennett or one of the big guys for us to get Oladipo at 7. Not impossible. Phoenix has needs everywhere and may want to go big. New Orleans already has Eric Gordon, though we don't really know how happy they are with him right now. I thought Russell Westbrook and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist were similar types of niche players though -- defensive minded, hard-working, great athleticism, developing offensive skills -- and both went much higher than projected. It's going to be another long month of speculation.
 
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Lol, twitter is blowing up with pick+ player for Cuz. I guess everyone assume he is being dumped?
No chance.

It actually would make me sad to hear any team in our position to consider this. Trade away players that they KNOW can play for players that have the possibility of being able to play for lack of chemistry? That's just ridiculous.
 
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Since I have a feeling we might trade the pick for a Vet + moving down, I've been looking at late lotto and mid first guys. Jamaal Franklin kind of interests me even though he's another SG. Also, Dario Saric has the feel for the game of basketball the team sorely lacks. Question with Dario is he a SF? A stretch 4? Not sure. Kind of reminds me of a taller Draymond Green.
 
Appreciate it! So he is quick, but he may or may not be able to shoot at this time (draftexpress has no stats on him). The one thing that concerns me is that playmaking was not mentioned (apart from pick and roll play). His stock will depend greatly on workouts. After the first 5 or so players, this entire draft seems to be up in the air.

I like Schroeder over anyone not ranked in the top 3 according to nbadraft (McLemore, noel, Porter) besides Burke.. much more upside than Carter-Williams
 
having resigned myself that Burke will be gone, I want to like Schroeder...... incredible physical specimen.. speed.. jumper is nice.. can create for himself/teammates off the dribble.. he's 19 so he should fill out a bit.. don't like the distribution instincts yet - bad Assist/T.O in europe although he did better at the Portlnd exhibition.. would worry me.. to me pg instincts are largely natural - you have them or don't.. he has swag from the clips I've seen
don't be alarmed by that. Dime Dropper mentioned it earlier already, assists are calculated differently under FIBA rules, even Rubio averaged less than 4apg in Euroleague competition and barely above 4 in the ACB. the TO% is worrying, agreed, but IIRC, a high turnover rate isn't that bad a sign in a young point guard.

it's nice to see all the love for Schröder in this thread and I'd obviously be thrilled if he landed in Sacramento (especially since he has been playing for the enemy lately). trading the pick for a veteran or trading down would be preferable to drafting him at #7 as of right now, but maybe individual workouts will change that anyway, nevermind that it's pretty much impossible with the current front office situation being what it is. we should have him at a workout anyway, no harm in that.

someone mentioned his shooting, you can look up the stats here, he has made a considerable jump from last year to this and there are voices questioning the sustainability of the 40% from downtown, as he doesn't have the best of mechanics. still, if he can sustain, or even improve upon his shooting that's a fairly solid shooter right there.
 

Kingster

Hall of Famer
Don't trade the pick; just trade Salmons and Thornton (although given their contracts that could be a difficult task).

#7 could get you a better player than #1 because of the depth of the draft and iffyness of it. If Noel is #1 there could be a ton of guys better than Noel in this draft.

I'd like to know if Petrie was given a budget to go to Europe this past year and scout guys like Schroeder and Gobert. Maybe having only the $ to stay at youth hostels and taking red eye flights via Priceline didn't allow for the depth of scouting that you would want. If Petrie doesn't have a firm grasp on the europeans, all the more reason to hire immediately a GM who does.
 
Draft Express has been pretty accurate and right now has us taking Trey Burke. Could be some great pick and rolls with Cousins.
Maybe he does drop! Someone always does. Consider the PG on the teams picking before us:

3. Wizards (Wall)
4. Bobcats (Kemba Walker)
5. Suns (Dragic)
6. Pelicans (Vasquez)
 
Don't trade the pick; just trade Salmons and Thornton (although given their contracts that could be a difficult task).

#7 could get you a better player than #1 because of the depth of the draft and iffyness of it. If Noel is #1 there could be a ton of guys better than Noel in this draft.

I'd like to know if Petrie was given a budget to go to Europe this past year and scout guys like Schroeder and Gobert. Maybe having only the $ to stay at youth hostels and taking red eye flights via Priceline didn't allow for the depth of scouting that you would want. If Petrie doesn't have a firm grasp on the europeans, all the more reason to hire immediately a GM who does.
You actually make a great argument for trading DOWN the draft, the "iffyness" of this draft and our need for solid experienced role players make it MOST attractive to package the draft with some of our duplicates or dead wood to get back a solid role player and then take a flyer at long shot or project.

While I would love to see us move Salmons (unless the new coach wants to play a point forward offense) but the truth is given his contract VS his play the only way anyone takes him is as part of a deal for something they really want or as a ender. Not all players can be traded, as Kenny Thomas taught us all. We may be better off living with him for a year so we can have the cap space next year.
 
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funkykingston

Super Moderator
Staff member
I'm not as high on Burke as many AND I'd like to see Tyreke back at PG but Burke could certainly slip to #7. So could Porter. CBS has a mock draft with that scenario:

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/draft/mock-draft

The second mock draft on that page has the Kings taking Gobert. And what's most interesting to me is that both of them have Cleveland taking Noel. Now, he might go #1 but I can't see the Cavs doing the picking. Noel is too skinny to man the pivot and Tristan Thompson isn't a big enough 4 to guard opposing low post threats. The sad part to me is that Noel WOULD fit very well next to DMC.

This will be an interesting draft for a few reasons. But we won't have any idea of what direction we're leaning until the team's sale is finalized and we get some clarity on the GM (and coach) situation.