NBA Lottery Thread

[Gguod]

Detroit’s internal meetings are still revolving around three players for the No. 1 pick on Thursday night — Cade Cunningham, Jalen Green and Evan Mobley, sources tell ESPN. Detroit isn’t fully there yet on committing to Cunningham with their first overall choice.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 26, 2021

This is one example of the situations why I would've liked us to gather all the additional draft assets for the past few years+committed to getting as good draft position as possible. I would've thrown a godfather offer to Pistons for Cade. All the additional draft assets plus our own this year if it was better than 9th.

Whit our strategy, franchise changing moves like that are out of the question unfortunately.

 

[SacTownKid]

Chad Ford: Sources say there is some internal advocacy in Sacramento for taking Trey Murphy III, another 3-and-D wing with size — especially if Franz Wagner is off the board.

– via Twitter chadfordinsider

Right idea, probably a little too high so maybe a trade down is true?

 

[SacTownKid]

I love big men but us just standing pat and drafting Sengun and calling it a night would be Vlade drafting Papagiannis despite already having All-Star center Demarcus Cousins and pretty much nobody else already on the roster levels of frustrating.

If another season goes by where the Kings continue to supposedly look at analytics and allow their coach to continue to use his best 5 man unit at a limited capacity then their "genius" cards are officially revoked.

 

[Tetsujin]

If another season goes by where the Kings continue to supposedly look at analytics and allow their coach to continue to use his best 5 man unit at a limited capacity then their "genius" cards are officially revoked.

“Analytics love Sengun” but they probably wouldn’t like Sengun as the 3rd/4th option safety valve in a guard heavy offense.

 

[SacTownKid]

I would have to strongly disagree, Papagiannis was an awful pick both at the time and in hindsight. Sengun has legit big-time talent even if you don't like the fit. And we definitely don't have a Boogie ahead of him on the depth chart.

I get that it may frustrate you to those levels, but the two scenarios are worlds apart.

But another big in a similar mold would be entering the same world as the other guy, Kings World. BAD IDEA. And right now I'd gladly welcome Papa G on the squad. Now that he's sprouted pubes and isn't a mushy 19 year old. Just like Sengun.

 

[SLAB]

Guess they want to top the darko pick and go against the status quo

They’re consulting with Vlade as we speak.

 

[SacTownKid]

The issue is that the big-time talent he has is mostly at things that don't really succeed in the current NBA environment. Jokic and Embiid are able to be superstars because they've got elite perimeter skills in addition to their post games (and additionally Embiid plays defense like a mofo). While it's not impossible (perhaps its even likely) that Sengun will eventually develop the perimeter skills/offball skillsets necessary to be a star in the NBA, I'm not confident it'll happen in time for him to be able to play well with the two young studs we've already got on our roster.

If we had another pick to grab a guy who'd really help us now in a position of need, I'd be all for nabbing Sengun but if #9 is the only shot we're getting I unfortunately have to say no. It's the same reason I was against us grabbing Poku last year despite him being a really interesting prospect (thankfully Haliburton randomly dropping like a rock removed that from the discussion).

And when it comes to Jokic, lets not forget he had some stumbling blocks in his way at the start. The Nuggets fortunately went with him instead of Nurkic but that really could have gone either way. You can't trust the decision making of this organization and even their recent usage of talent is enough to make your head spin at the thought of them having to figure anything out after the fact. Just make the easy call. Nobody at 9 is guaranteed to be anything super special so if the next MJ is picked 2 picks behind you it is what it is. The Kings need to be more concerned about coming out with SOMETHING, and that something in this draft can easily fill a major need on the wing.

 

[dude12]

Didn’t Chad Ford was around. Dumars his inside guy?

I’m fairly certain right now that Monte is getting smoke screens out there all over the place on every single guy available and every possible draft pick

 

[NewArena]

None of these people know what our new front office will do. A lot of these buffoons still think Vlade is here

 

[Tetsujin]

Didn’t Chad Ford was around. Dumars his inside guy?

I’m fairly certain right now that Monte is getting smoke screens out there all over the place on every single guy available and every possible draft pick

Dumars got in trouble for being too close with Woj. So if a Kings rumor comes from Woj, it’s probably happening.

 

[Woot!]

Hey! Speaking of Papa G, guess which player has played more games/minutes and scored more points than any other in his draft class?

Yes, friends! None other than CHAVANO RANIER "BUDDY" HIELD!

https://www.basketball-reference.com/draft/NBA_2016.html

 

[Tetsujin]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1419805650167631885

would be hilarious if the Pistons did all this to not draft Cade

 

[steelevt]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1419805650167631885

would be hilarious if the Pistons did all this to not draft Cade

i mean i do like SGA, but that drop from 1 to 6 is a big drop. i would think they would listen if houston cleveland or even toronto had a similar package.

 

[kingsboi]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1419805650167631885

would be hilarious if the Pistons did all this to not draft Cade

Shai is talented but I see him as a borderline All-Star player and Pistons did the right thing here

 

[Tetsujin]

Shai is talented but I see him as a borderline All-Star player and Pistons did the right thing here

I really don’t have a dog in this race but the dudes who like Shai REALLY like his game for whatever reason.

also the idea of taking someone other than Cade with the first overall pick is hilarious.

 

[Reverend]

Shai is talented but I see him as a borderline All-Star player and Pistons did the right thing here

Idk man I think especially in the eastern conference he would be one of the better guards in the conference

 

[pdxKingsFan]

If you don't want Cade you sell down like the Kings should have done with Luka.

I don't know about Shai though. I think they'd need more to throw in a few futures or maybe their 16 and 18?
Number 1 pick will always have a certain something something unless they are a total bust.

 

[Capt. Factorial]

If you don't want Cade you sell down like the Kings should have done with Luka.

I don't know if it wasn't a strategic decision not to sell down. Clearly the buyer was Dallas at #5. And maybe our price for moving down 3 spots was more than Atlanta's for moving down 2, and Dallas wasn't willing to pay. And if the deal does go down, the real question then is who Atlanta and Memphis take at 3/4. Clearly we wanted Bagley (ignoring whether that was correct or not, it's what we WANTED), and if we're not sure that both Atlanta and Memphis pass on him, we could potentially be looking at a choice between Trae (who we probably didn't want because of Fox) and Bamba...can you re-package Trae and move down again? Does having that Dallas 2019 pick make it palatable to reach for an injured Porter Jr. at 5? Right now it looks like that would have been the right move, but would we have had the cojones to do it if our preferred player didn't fall to us? Getting too cute can be dangerous when you know what you want.

 

[pdxKingsFan]

I don't know if it wasn't a strategic decision not to sell down. Clearly the buyer was Dallas at #5. And maybe our price for moving down 3 spots was more than Atlanta's for moving down 2, and Dallas wasn't willing to pay. And if the deal does go down, the real question then is who Atlanta and Memphis take at 3/4. Clearly we wanted Bagley (ignoring whether that was correct or not, it's what we WANTED), and if we're not sure that both Atlanta and Memphis pass on him, we could potentially be looking at a choice between Trae (who we probably didn't want because of Fox) and Bamba...can you re-package Trae and move down again? Does having that Dallas 2019 pick make it palatable to reach for an injured Porter Jr. at 5? Right now it looks like that would have been the right move, but would we have had the cojones to do it if our preferred player didn't fall to us? Getting too cute can be dangerous when you know what you want.

I believe Atlanta would still take Trae and Memphis would take JJJ or Bagley leaving us with the other? Maybe Atlanta makes a deal with Memphis to not pick their guy at 4?

I would hope Bamba never entered the equation, so arguably we couldn't have done worse than we did.

 

[LenPa]

I don't know if it wasn't a strategic decision not to sell down. Clearly the buyer was Dallas at #5. And maybe our price for moving down 3 spots was more than Atlanta's for moving down 2, and Dallas wasn't willing to pay. And if the deal does go down, the real question then is who Atlanta and Memphis take at 3/4. Clearly we wanted Bagley (ignoring whether that was correct or not, it's what we WANTED), and if we're not sure that both Atlanta and Memphis pass on him, we could potentially be looking at a choice between Trae (who we probably didn't want because of Fox) and Bamba...can you re-package Trae and move down again? Does having that Dallas 2019 pick make it palatable to reach for an injured Porter Jr. at 5? Right now it looks like that would have been the right move, but would we have had the cojones to do it if our preferred player didn't fall to us? Getting too cute can be dangerous when you know what you want.

That are some true words. In the end, we always know better and can complain about what happened at a specific draft a few years later. But as you mentioned if the front office was absolutely convinced and made a strategic decision (they hopefully based on some analytics/reports back then) I think we as fans also have be aware of the point that the front office do not role dices and then select a player based on the number but that also have scouts/draft reports/watch the players.... We maybe do not have to accept what they did but especially if we have a look at it know think about how the players were evaluate at that time - e.g. draft ratings - (even if it was crap in the end or if we may have known better).

 

[Capt. Factorial]

I believe Atlanta would still take Trae and Memphis would take JJJ or Bagley leaving us with the other? Maybe Atlanta makes a deal with Memphis to not pick their guy at 4?

I would hope Bamba never entered the equation, so arguably we couldn't have done worse than we did.

True, but my point is that we clearly did not want Trae or JJJ over Bagley, or we would have taken them at #2. We were in danger of not getting what we wanted at the time (I honestly have no idea whether either Atlanta or Memphis would have taken Bagley). Hindsight is a different story, but you don't decide on whether or not to make a trade-down in hindsight.

 

[mac]

Hey! Speaking of Papa G, guess which player has played more games/minutes and scored more points than any other in his draft class?

Yes, friends! None other than CHAVANO RANIER "BUDDY" HIELD!

https://www.basketball-reference.com/draft/NBA_2016.html

Looking at that list I'd say Buddy still goes #6 or at most #7 if you redid the draft today. Looks like he was picked around the right position

 

[pdxKingsFan]

True, but my point is that we clearly did not want Trae or JJJ over Bagley, or we would have taken them at #2. We were in danger of not getting what we wanted at the time (I honestly have no idea whether either Atlanta or Memphis would have taken Bagley). Hindsight is a different story, but you don't decide on whether or not to make a trade-down in hindsight.

The question though is what else you get in exchange for the risk. Atlanta got one protected pick for going from 3 to 5, arguably Kings could have extracted even more going from 2 to 5.

You're right that we never know if we would have missed Bagley, I'd say it's 50-50 at worst but Memphis seemed locked into JJJ and Atlanta seemed to have a shrewd plan.

The greatest frustration to me is that we got tunnel vision and didn't even work out the others so that we couldn't even weigh all the possibilities before us.

 

[kb02]

Latest Zach Harper piece says the Kings are likely to pick Wagoneer (I get it, would not be mad or ecstatic) or Sengun (yes, please). Bouknight, as I expected, won’t make it to 9.

This assumes they don’t trade the pick.

 

[SacTownKid]

Latest Zach Harper piece says the Kings are likely to pick Wagoneer (I get it, would not be mad or ecstatic) or Sengun (yes, please). Bouknight, as I expected, won’t make it to 9.

This assumes they don’t trade the pick.

If they are picking between those 2 then this FO has less of a plan than Vlade ever did.

 

[Dime Dropper]

If they are picking between those 2 then this FO has less of a plan than Vlade ever did.

Hyperbole. One draft is not going to solve all our problems, and Vlade's plan, if he even had one, was atrocious.

If Wagner/Sengun are the choice, it will not come close to the mistakes Vlade made in his drafts.

 

[SacTownKid]

Hyperbole. One draft is not going to solve all our problems, and Vlade's plan, if he even had one, was atrocious.

If Wagner/Sengun are the choice, it will not come close to the mistakes Vlade made in his drafts.

A plan is not hyperbole. The reality is picking between a wing or a post big is an entirely different swing to how not only your team plays but how you would approach your team build from there. To Vlades credit he did usually have some sort of plan. He saved for the big score, didn't get it, and went with need. Now, his issue was he went with too much need all at once. He needed an extra big, he got 2 or 3. And that depth created problems. Also to his credit he didn't wait too long on it. If the mistake was bad he tried to fix it quickly.

 

[dude12]

Wagner is a forever role player. Maybe that’s what we need.
Moody has a chance to be a little bit more while giving the 3 and D they need.
I’d personally go for the guy who has a bit more upside but is still a safe pick.
And do we really need an Enes Kanter type in Sengun….meaning a defensive liability?

 

[SacTownKid]

Wagner is a forever role player. Maybe that’s what we need.
Moody has a chance to be a little bit more while giving the 3 and D they need.
I’d personally go for the guy who has a bit more upside but is still a safe pick.
And do we really need an Enes Kanter type in Sengun….meaning a defensive liability?

Sengun could be a terrific player but that's exactly my thought. Do the Kings really need that if it doesn't look like a seamless fit? Can they develop a player like that? Does he fit with not only the league right now but the team the Kings appear to be trying to build? If they draft Sengun I really hope they set the charges on draft night and start a full rebuild then and there and focus on development otherwise they aren't really doing much except scatter enough things around to hopefully hit on one.

 

[jiimbob]

Wagner is a forever role player. Maybe that’s what we need.
Moody has a chance to be a little bit more while giving the 3 and D they need.
I’d personally go for the guy who has a bit more upside but is still a safe pick.
And do we really need an Enes Kanter type in Sengun….meaning a defensive liability?

I too get a little more excited about Moody over Wagner but suspect one will be gone by 9 so happy for either.
Of course Sengun might turn out to be the best choice in time but at present Im more comfortable figuring a way to get him with a later pick.
Today I am so underwhelmed with rumours on what we might get for Buddy and Bagley that it seems the wise thing to do is just pick the player with the highest upside in a position of need at 9 and thats Moody.