I agree we shouldn't settle for a leftover but there is a clear top 8. After the 1st 3 go we could use Smart or Exxum who are PGs and instantly upgrade that position. We could use Vonleh as a potential great fit next to Cuz. Vonleh is not an undersized tweene like Robinson. Randle is strength and quickness who can score....might not be a great fit but there is no denying talent....I'm not sure I take him though. Gordon is the best prospect left on the board at this point....an elite defender. All of these guys would upgrade our team immediately. I believe Elfrid Payton to be the next best guy/fit in this draft....an elite defender at his position with length. I'll take any one of these 9 guys.
Alright, we got the 8th pick, options...
- Thread starter miltonap
- Start date
I agree we shouldn't settle for a leftover but there is a clear top 8. After the 1st 3 go we could use Smart or Exxum who are PGs and instantly upgrade that position. We could use Vonleh as a potential great fit next to Cuz. Vonleh is not an undersized tweene like Robinson. Randle is strength and quickness who can score....might not be a great fit but there is no denying talent....I'm not sure I take him though. Gordon is the best prospect left on the board at this point....an elite defender. All of these guys would upgrade our team immediately. I believe Elfrid Payton to be the next best guy/fit in this draft....an elite defender at his position with length. I'll take any one of these 9 guys.
Nikolizzle
G-League
Stauskas is a poor pick in my opinion. Why would we want him, when we have McLemore? Sure, bad first year, but still has a ceiling streets ahead of Stauskas.
roasthawg
Starter
Stauskas looks to be a better shooter, passer, and ball handler that McLemore for starters.
KingsCitizen
Starter
The only possible way I think that we land Stauskas if we trade McLemore and get some defensive specialist in return (i.e. a trade for Sanders).
randymoss1881
Starter
I would easily trade Ben for Sanders straight up and draft Stauskas if Milwaukee accepted it.
roasthawg
Starter
Not necessary to trade Ben... San Antonio just won the title playing Green and Ginobli both significant minutes. Plenty of minutes to go around.
Tetsujin
The Game Thread Dude
You can put just about anybody on a Pop coached team and have it be a perfect fit.
Big Cuz 15
All-Star
right. saric would be one of those players. don't think malone can bring the best out of him.
Nikolizzle
G-League
If you're comparing to Ben's rookie season, I agree. But Stauskas hasn't been drafted yet. You compare Ben's last season at Kansas with Stauskas? Ben kills him.
Now, it's really up to you whether this helps or hinders either argument. I, for one, see Ben being much more of a force in this league than Stauskas.
Livinthedream
All-Star
Agreed. Ben's upside is more than Stauskas's. It seems mandatory to put Ben in every trade scenario because that would be the best way to entice another team to make a trade with us. I just have to smh when I see the argument over and over that Ben is no good, so we have to trade him and draft his replacement. Then, in the same argument say that he's the piece that we have to include with the #8 pick to get something of value back. Huh? Bad players who can't shoot, dribble, have low bb IQ and are mentally weak do not hold value. Either some of us think other GM's are absolutely stupid, or we're not being honest about Ben's true potential.
Albatros
Starter
I still think they trade the pick honestly. Unless there's someone they just love at 8. Sadly I think that guy is Gordon. Praying he's gone.
Randle doesn't bare thinking about.
My list would be
Smart
Stauskas
Payton
McDermott.
Need someone with a skill set we can use NOW. No more pie in the sky "killer upside" guys like Whiteside and Trob.
I will actually lose it if Randle is the pick. I can live with Gordon but I'd be p'od.
I get a feeling of apathy toward this draft from the FO with the lack of workouts etc.
Randle doesn't bare thinking about.
My list would be
Smart
Stauskas
Payton
McDermott.
Need someone with a skill set we can use NOW. No more pie in the sky "killer upside" guys like Whiteside and Trob.
I will actually lose it if Randle is the pick. I can live with Gordon but I'd be p'od.
I get a feeling of apathy toward this draft from the FO with the lack of workouts etc.
ParniValjak
All-Star
My hope is that we trade the pick for a proven veteran player who is at a borderline all-star level (ala Rudy Gay)
Dime Dropper
All-Star
I disagree with you about Randle, but this part rings true with me. Seems they're really not interested in the draft, the lack of workouts is bizarre. They should be getting everyone in our range in regardless, just in case. Seems to me that they're fairly set on moving the pick.
Dime Dropper
All-Star
According to an LA times article, Randle looked great in a workout for them and is scheduled to work out for the Kings soon. I know he's not an ideal fit, but I think he's better than every big on our roster already, bar Cousins obviously. That kind of value at 8 is hard to get. Could regret passing on him big time if he's there and we do.
Mike
Bench
I guess it depends on what the plan is. If they decided to match whatever offer IT gets, re-sign Gay or at least keep him for his option, then we have a starter and backup at the PG and SF positions (ie IT/Ray, Gay/D-Will). Obviously center is sorted with Cousins, he might need a better backup, but that can be sorted in free agency. That leaves SG and PF.
We do need a starting PF and the best candidates for that are Vonleh, Gordon and Randle. In terms of fit Vonleh and Gordon would slot in nicely next to Cousins, and while Randle isn't a natural fit, he would almost certainly be a good player to have in the team. The problem is all three could be off the board, and according to reports the most likely one to be left in recent mocks is Randle. I'd like any of these three, but if all of them are off the board, grabbing a SG might make sense.
Granted SG isn't a huge priority with McLemore. But we could use a very good back up, or a guy that can come in and start and allow us to develop McLemore off the bench. Stauskas would be ideal because he's a very good shooter. So off the bench he could be a productive sixth man, or he could slot in and be a good starter. The other option is taking a risk on LaVine and developing him. He has the size and athleticism to player PG or SG, and with work he's got star potential. Whichever guy we go for would help give us more depth and options at SG.
So sure, Stauskas wouldn't be a flashy pick, but McLemore and Stauskas could be a productive rotation. That would leave us with:
PG: IT / Ray
SG: McLemore / Stauskas
SF: Gay / D-Will
PF: ?
C: Cousins
In reality we need a PF, but if the top three are gone, we could do worse than add a gunner like Stauskas.
roasthawg
Starter
I tend to disagree with this... I think sg is a bigger need than pf for the upcoming season. Ben and Terry at sg looks brutal. JT, Landry, Evans, and Acy at pf looks serviceable especially if Landry has a bounceback year.
In one the many latest mocks, fwiw, and ignoring the top 3 cause they won't drop
4 Orlando -Exxum....makes sense
5 Utah. - Vonleh....also makes sense and signs point to this happening
6 Boston - Gordon....been reading this forever
7 LA - Randle....by all accounts his workout there was great, the kid continues to workout to show health
8 Sac - Smart..... If he is there at 8, I'm extremely happy
This mock makes sense ..... Which probably means it won't happen.lol.
4 Orlando -Exxum....makes sense
5 Utah. - Vonleh....also makes sense and signs point to this happening
6 Boston - Gordon....been reading this forever
7 LA - Randle....by all accounts his workout there was great, the kid continues to workout to show health
8 Sac - Smart..... If he is there at 8, I'm extremely happy
This mock makes sense ..... Which probably means it won't happen.lol.
Gary
All-Star
No way Smart drops that far. Usually when I try to make sense of something it blows up in my face lol.
This, even though none of those 4 guys are what we "need" persay at the PF slot, Reggie, JT, and Landry can combine for some decent PF production. I wouldn't even count Terry at our SG position for next year, so we're pretty looking at just Ben currently.
Orlando- Exxum makes way to much sense for them to pass on him
Utah is a wildcard but I think they want to go big so that they can move Favors to the center position more often....they had Marvin Williams playing PF for long stretches for gods sake...I think they go big with Vonleh.
Boston...could go in a number of ways and even be part of the Love trade but continually read Gordon here....not that I'm completely confidant and it could easily be Smart here
LA...could be Smart or Randle but taking Randle is not out of the question....his skill set is going to be hard to pass up
So maybe Smart drops....on picks 5-8 I feel confidant in Utah going big and I think the upside of Vonleh is going to put him ahead of Gordon and Randle.
I have no sense for what the Lakers might do and really Boston either.
Jerichoholic
Bench
That's the mock draft I would come up with too, although all the talk about Boston drafting Gordon has me skeptical. Too much talk too early in the game here. It almost seems like a sure thing which leads me to believe it won't happen. However if everything goes as this list shows then I think the Kings are in a great spot to trade down. A lot of teams would be interested in Marcus Smart and I don't think he fits here. He is very much like Tyreke Evans, just not as good and we already traded him.
From what we've heard the Kings want more picks in this draft and thus far they have been unable to buy one so trading down seems more and more like a possibility.
Dime Dropper
All-Star
No he's not
Jerichoholic
Bench
Yes he is. If you don't think so tell me why. I will tell you how he is and I have watched many of his games.
He is taller and thicker than your normal PG. He is generally a bit slow when handling the ball, but has good explosiveness when driving. He tends to get more credit than Evans when creating for others, but I will say that most of that creation comes off of his driving just like Evans who in my opinion didn't get enough credit for that. He is a ball dominant player who does tend to make the offense stagnant from time to time which is why the teams was susceptible to having big runs happen against them. His shot is better than Evans', but there is still a lot of work to do there. He is also very good defensively staying in front of players and his team defense is strong too, Evans was the same way. Please tell me if I'm missing something.
Big Cuz 15
All-Star
isn't pizza boy a lakers fan too?
Big Cuz 15
All-Star
the only thing similar is they both like to drive to the basket. smart doesn't have the craftiness to get to the rim at will. tyreke could do that in his sleep, finish, get the &1. i haven't seen any of smart's highlight clips that show that.
Jerichoholic
Bench
That's just the thing, driving to the basket is the most important part of both of their games. However Evans is much better at it.
Mike
Bench
True, and that's why I can understand selecting Stauskas, or even one of LaVine, Harris, and Young if they were the favored option. However, if Vonleh or Gordon are available at #8, do we pass on an upgrade at PF in favor of a SG, or do we select the guy that could be the long term fix at PF?
For me, I think slotting an upgrade at PF would be the better scenario because we could always try to swing a trade to grab a late first round pick or early second to look for a capable SG to help lighten the burden on McLemore and JT.
That said, I do think upgrading the SG position could be an equally good route. That way we'd have depth and starting quality at PG, SG, SF and C. So that would leave us needing serviceable help at PF. Either way I'd be happy.
randymoss1881
Starter
I think Boston's is doing the Love trade and Minnesota will draft Randle at 5 and smart goes to LA at 7
LPKingsFan
All-Star
Evans was fantastic at getting to the rim but was never great at creating for teammates off those drives, nor could he ever get the shot going consistently. Could he manage to add at least one of those things, he'd be unstoppable.
Smart may be less athletic and has worse handles, but I think has already shown an ability to improve his floor vision as well as his facility to create for others better than Evans. I also have the impression his shot is more likely to improve than Evans. Those are important differences, and thus I wouldn't see a Smart pick as at all inconsistent with letting Evans walk.
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