sactowndog
Hall of Famer
True some drafts are very poor. This coming year is not one of them.
Race to the Bottom thread
- Thread starter iowamcnabb
- Start date
sactowndog
Hall of Famer
No I act like part of our incompetence is ignoring reality and picking far too frequently in the back half of the lottery. A point you seem to miss.
The fact we have been so bad for 40 years (.412 record) and have had only had 3 top 3 picks speaks volumes.
Tier 1: All-Time Greatest Classes
- 1996: Kobe Bryant, Iverson, Nash, Ray Allen (Peja Stojaković, #14)
- 1984: Michael Jordan, Hakeem, Barkley, Stockton (Otis Thorpe, #9)
- 2003: LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony (No 1st Rd Pick)
- 2009: Stephen Curry, James Harden, Blake Griffin (Tyreke Evans, #4)
Tier 2: Historically Deep Classes
- 2018: Luka Dončić, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Trae Young (Marvin Bagley III, #2)
- 2011: Kawhi Leonard, Kyrie Irving, Jimmy Butler, Klay Thompson (Bismack Biyombo, #7 — traded to CHA)
- 1987: David Robinson, Scottie Pippen, Reggie Miller (Kenny Smith, #6)
- 2014: Nikola Jokić, Joel Embiid, Jayson Tatum* (Nik Stauskas, #8)
- 2012: Anthony Davis, Damian Lillard, Draymond Green (Thomas Robinson, #5)
- 1985: Patrick Ewing, Karl Malone, Chris Mullin (Joe Kleine, #6)
- 1998: Dirk Nowitzki, Paul Pierce, Vince Carter (Jason Williams, #7)
- 2008: Russell Westbrook, Kevin Love, Derrick Rose (Jason Thompson, #12)
Tier 3: Solid Classes with Star Talent
- 2001: Pau Gasol, Tony Parker, Joe Johnson (Gerald Wallace, #25)
- 2017: Jayson Tatum, Donovan Mitchell, De'Aaron Fox (De'Aaron Fox, #5)
- 2007: Kevin Durant, Al Horford, Marc Gasol (Spencer Hawes, #10)
- 2016: Jaylen Brown, Brandon Ingram, Pascal Siakam (Marquese Chriss, #8 — traded to PHX)
- 1999: Manu Ginóbili, Shawn Marion, Elton Brand (No 1st Rd Pick)
- 1995: Kevin Garnett, Rasheed Wallace, Paul Pierce* (No 1st Rd Pick)
- 1992: Shaquille O'Neal, Alonzo Mourning (Walt Williams, #7)
- 2005: Chris Paul, Deron Williams (Francisco García, #23)
Tier 4: Average to Shallow Classes
- 2015: Devin Booker, Karl-Anthony Towns (Willie Cauley-Stein, #6)
- 1988: Mitch Richmond, Rod Strickland (Ricky Berry, #18)
- 1990: Gary Payton, Toni Kukoč (Lionel Simmons, #7)
- 2010: Paul George, John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins (DeMarcus Cousins, #5)
- 2004: Dwight Howard, Andre Iguodala (Kevin Martin, #26)
- 1993: Chris Webber, Penny Hardaway (Bobby Hurley, #7)
- 2019: Ja Morant, Zion Williamson (Justin James, #40 — no 1st Rd Pick)
- 1991: Larry Johnson, Dikembe Mutombo (Billy Owens, #3 — traded to GSW)
- 2021: Cade Cunningham, Scottie Barnes (Davion Mitchell, #9)
- 2022: Paolo Banchero, Chet Holmgren (Keegan Murray, #4)
Tier 5: Historically Weak Classes
- 1989: Tim Hardaway, Shawn Kemp (Pervis Ellison, #1)
- 1994: Jason Kidd, Grant Hill (Brian Grant, #8)
- 2006: Kyle Lowry, LaMarcus Aldridge (Quincy Douby, #19)
- 2013: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Rudy Gobert (Ben McLemore, #7)
- 1986: Brad Daugherty, Dennis Rodman (Harold Pressley, #17)
- 1997: Tim Duncan, Tracy McGrady (Olivier Saint-Jean, #11)
- 2002: Yao Ming, Amar'e Stoudemire (Dan Dickau, #28)
- 2020: Anthony Edwards, Tyrese Haliburton (Tyrese Haliburton, #12)
- 2023: Victor Wembanyama (Olivier-Maxence Prosper, #24 — traded to DAL)
- 2024: Zaccharie Risacher, Reed Sheppard (Devin Carter, #13)
- 2000: Kenyon Martin, Jamal Crawford, Hedo Türkoğlu (Hedo Türkoğlu, #16)
sactowndog
Hall of Famer
Just as an aside ……. When you look at the names AI used to rank classes the last 40 years…..
3 Kings drafted players are included…. Haliburton, Fox and Cousins.
Monte had two of them on his team and what assets do we have from them now? Players we cannot trade for value
What did he accomplish? 1 first round exit.
sactowndog
Hall of Famer
In the top 20 draft years over the last 40 we have had 1 top 3 pick and Vlade could not figure out to draft Luka.
sactowndog
Hall of Famer
Here is another point. The best run teams don’t pick a lot at 6,7,8 because you pay a lot of money and don’t get star talent. “Tanking” to end up the 4 seed going into the lottery is what dumb teams do because your best odds are 6 and 7.
Total Picks at Slots #6, #7, and #8 (1986–2025)
Rank NBA Team Total Picks (6, 7, 8) Primary Selections at these Slots
1 Sacramento Kings 11 Willie Cauley-Stein (#6), Ben McLemore (#7), B. Hurley (#7)
2 Golden State Warriors 9 Stephen Curry (#7), Chris Mullin (#7), Harrison Barnes (#7)
3 Minnesota Timberwolves 8 Corey Brewer (#7), Randy Foye (#7), Luc Longley (#7)
4 Orlando Magic 7 Mo Bamba (#6), Jonathan Isaac (#6)
5 Washington Wizards 7 Jan Vesely (#6), Richard Hamilton (#7), Tom Gugliotta (#6)
6 New York Knicks 7 Obi Toppin (#8), Frank Ntilikina (#8), Danilo Gallinari (#6)
7 Detroit Pistons 6 Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (#8), Brandon Knight (#8), S. Johnson (#8)
8 Charlotte Hornets 6 Bismack Biyombo (#7), Frank Kaminsky (#9-adjacent), D. Augustin (#9)
9 Milwaukee Bucks 6 Yi Jianlian (#6), Joe Alexander (#8), Robert Traylor (#6)
10 Portland Trail Blazers 5 Damian Lillard (#6), Brandon Roy (#6), Martell Webster (#6)
11 Cleveland Cavaliers 5 Collin Sexton (#8), Chris Mihm (#7), Ron Harper (#8)
12 Chicago Bulls 5 Wendell Carter Jr. (#7), Lauri Markkanen (#7), Kirk Hinrich (#7)
13 Los Angeles Clippers 5 Chris Kaman (#6), Byron Mullens (#24-held 7), Hersey Hawkins (#6)
14 Atlanta Hawks 4 Onyeka Okongwu (#6), Josh Childress (#6), DerMarr Johnson (#6)
15 Brooklyn Nets 4 Brook Lopez (#10-held 7/8 in past trades), Kerry Kittles (#8)
16 Memphis Grizzlies 4 Rudy Gay (#8), Brian Cardinal (#11-held 7 in past), Shane Battier (#6)
17 Phoenix Suns 4 Marquese Chriss (#8), Luol Deng (#7), William Bedford (#6)
18 Philadelphia 76ers 3 Nerlens Noel (#6), Thaddeus Young (#12-held 7 in past), J. Bradley (#2)
19 Toronto Raptors 3 Jakob Poeltl (#9-held 7/8 in trades), Charlie Villanueva (#7)
20 Indiana Pacers 3 Jarace Walker (#8), Bennedict Mathurin (#6), McCloud (#7)
21 Houston Rockets 3 Royce White (#16), Rudy Tomjanovich (#2), frequent trade-ins
22 Dallas Mavericks 2 Detlef Schrempf (#8), Sam Perkins (#4)
23 New Orleans Pelicans 2 Buddy Hield (#6), Chris Paul (#4)
24 Denver Nuggets 2 Jamal Murray (#7), Emmanuel Mudiay (#7)
26 Oklahoma City Thunder 2 Josh Giddey (#6), Olden Polynice (8)
25 Boston Celtics 1 Marcus Smart (#6)
27 San Antonio Spurs 1 Rob Dillingham (#8),
28 Los Angeles Lakers 1 Julius Randle (#7),
29 Utah Jazz 0
30 Miami Heat 0
Total Picks at Slots #6, #7, and #8 (1986–2025)
Rank NBA Team Total Picks (6, 7, 8) Primary Selections at these Slots
1 Sacramento Kings 11 Willie Cauley-Stein (#6), Ben McLemore (#7), B. Hurley (#7)
2 Golden State Warriors 9 Stephen Curry (#7), Chris Mullin (#7), Harrison Barnes (#7)
3 Minnesota Timberwolves 8 Corey Brewer (#7), Randy Foye (#7), Luc Longley (#7)
4 Orlando Magic 7 Mo Bamba (#6), Jonathan Isaac (#6)
5 Washington Wizards 7 Jan Vesely (#6), Richard Hamilton (#7), Tom Gugliotta (#6)
6 New York Knicks 7 Obi Toppin (#8), Frank Ntilikina (#8), Danilo Gallinari (#6)
7 Detroit Pistons 6 Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (#8), Brandon Knight (#8), S. Johnson (#8)
8 Charlotte Hornets 6 Bismack Biyombo (#7), Frank Kaminsky (#9-adjacent), D. Augustin (#9)
9 Milwaukee Bucks 6 Yi Jianlian (#6), Joe Alexander (#8), Robert Traylor (#6)
10 Portland Trail Blazers 5 Damian Lillard (#6), Brandon Roy (#6), Martell Webster (#6)
11 Cleveland Cavaliers 5 Collin Sexton (#8), Chris Mihm (#7), Ron Harper (#8)
12 Chicago Bulls 5 Wendell Carter Jr. (#7), Lauri Markkanen (#7), Kirk Hinrich (#7)
13 Los Angeles Clippers 5 Chris Kaman (#6), Byron Mullens (#24-held 7), Hersey Hawkins (#6)
14 Atlanta Hawks 4 Onyeka Okongwu (#6), Josh Childress (#6), DerMarr Johnson (#6)
15 Brooklyn Nets 4 Brook Lopez (#10-held 7/8 in past trades), Kerry Kittles (#8)
16 Memphis Grizzlies 4 Rudy Gay (#8), Brian Cardinal (#11-held 7 in past), Shane Battier (#6)
17 Phoenix Suns 4 Marquese Chriss (#8), Luol Deng (#7), William Bedford (#6)
18 Philadelphia 76ers 3 Nerlens Noel (#6), Thaddeus Young (#12-held 7 in past), J. Bradley (#2)
19 Toronto Raptors 3 Jakob Poeltl (#9-held 7/8 in trades), Charlie Villanueva (#7)
20 Indiana Pacers 3 Jarace Walker (#8), Bennedict Mathurin (#6), McCloud (#7)
21 Houston Rockets 3 Royce White (#16), Rudy Tomjanovich (#2), frequent trade-ins
22 Dallas Mavericks 2 Detlef Schrempf (#8), Sam Perkins (#4)
23 New Orleans Pelicans 2 Buddy Hield (#6), Chris Paul (#4)
24 Denver Nuggets 2 Jamal Murray (#7), Emmanuel Mudiay (#7)
26 Oklahoma City Thunder 2 Josh Giddey (#6), Olden Polynice (8)
25 Boston Celtics 1 Marcus Smart (#6)
27 San Antonio Spurs 1 Rob Dillingham (#8),
28 Los Angeles Lakers 1 Julius Randle (#7),
29 Utah Jazz 0
30 Miami Heat 0
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Lol. You’re kind of making my point for me. We’ve had the opportunity numerous times to draft all-star players at the position we’re drafting in and just blew it. It’s not always position, it’s the decisions made with the assets we have, including drafting the wrong players over and over again. The talent was there.
Even our fan base would likely have done better drafting and managing talent. I’d put bajaden and the Captain and a couple others on a panel of 5 and make it “majority rules” in making decisions. We’d have been better off!
We’ve literally been one of the worst teams in the league based on record over the last couple decades. WE’VE BEEN UNINTENTIONALLY (!) SEMI-TANKING ALREADY. And we’re still here in purgatory.
I literally provided examples of how we and the dreaded Lakers built some of our best teams and it involved trades for nearly all the best players, not drafting them.
Drafting matters. It’s important. But it is also not the only way to get talent. Let’s not ignore the proper use of assets in all phases of management.
You can say that we should tank for 5 years and get great talent. What if the next 4-5 years are “bad” draft years, like some years we’ve had great pick positions?
Even our fan base would likely have done better drafting and managing talent. I’d put bajaden and the Captain and a couple others on a panel of 5 and make it “majority rules” in making decisions. We’d have been better off!
We’ve literally been one of the worst teams in the league based on record over the last couple decades. WE’VE BEEN UNINTENTIONALLY (!) SEMI-TANKING ALREADY. And we’re still here in purgatory.
I literally provided examples of how we and the dreaded Lakers built some of our best teams and it involved trades for nearly all the best players, not drafting them.
Drafting matters. It’s important. But it is also not the only way to get talent. Let’s not ignore the proper use of assets in all phases of management.
You can say that we should tank for 5 years and get great talent. What if the next 4-5 years are “bad” draft years, like some years we’ve had great pick positions?
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I think my point is, if we want to make an analogy - if owning and operating an NBA team was like prepping a car for a race, drafting is just one aspect - say, the transmission. It seems like many want to make that the ONLY important aspect of racing, instead of looking at the engine, transmission, tires, steering, shocks, aerodynamics, etc. You have to do it all well to succeed. I'm saying let's look more wholistically instead of hyper-focusing on just one part of it. We have holes just about everywhere and even when we have nailed a draft pick (Fox, Murray, DMC, etc.) it didn't get us into the playoffs (at least until Sabonis showed up). And, again, that was by trade. (Then Fox flaked on us and we're back to square 1, so ???) We need good drafting, yes, but scouting, ownership, FO actions, asset management (trades, contracts, etc.), coaching, player development, health, and plain old luck, etc., are all just as important.
Again, drafting is important, but it's not the only critical thing. We've had and will have drafting opportunities to pick up great players. The opportunities are already there. We have to do that better. Better pick positions may help in that process, but I say if we get #2 (for instance) and still blow it by passing on the (obvious?) all-star (that most everyone here seemed to want - again, I think we'd do better than those making the decisions sometimes), that's not on draft position, that's on asset management and the ownership/front office. We had the draft position already!
Again, drafting is important, but it's not the only critical thing. We've had and will have drafting opportunities to pick up great players. The opportunities are already there. We have to do that better. Better pick positions may help in that process, but I say if we get #2 (for instance) and still blow it by passing on the (obvious?) all-star (that most everyone here seemed to want - again, I think we'd do better than those making the decisions sometimes), that's not on draft position, that's on asset management and the ownership/front office. We had the draft position already!
Padrino
All-Star
I think some of us are trying to drive home that this is not about individual drafts, or even individual draft day movement, but a holistic strategy that centers the draft as its most important pillar across a number of non-competitive years of deadly-focused talent acquisition. The very problem with those nailed draft picks in the Kings' recent history is that the Kings never developed much of a strategy for building around them. They'd enter the draft, get their guy, and then try and kludge together a team worthy of the talent at the top of the roster. Except, lacking a legitimate strategy, or even a comprehensive vision, this franchise has mostly just muddled through, bumbled around, frittered away talent, and watched it all fall apart time and again. Such is the nature of impatience, of taking shortcuts.
But if you commit to rebuilding, you must commit to rebuilding. This means focusing on the draft first, seeing if you can come away with a reasonable bet at a future star (or two). And if you don't get one right away, you make sure that you haven't taken on too much dead salary that keeps you immobile at a time when you need to be flexible. In my recollection, the Kings have never really had much of a plan since they put down roots in Sacramento, outside of the so-called "glory years". Geoff Petrie put together a masterclass of drafting, trading, and shrewd free agent signing. But the NBA of those days is long gone. The CBA is vastly different now, punishing in its distaste for the imprudent, and it rewards teams who value the drafting and developing of their homegrown talent.
You missed one. Hedo was also listed, and an argument could be made he was the best player in that draft.
Dylan Harper was not picked at #6. For the love of all that is holy, he was DRAFTED JUST LAST YEAR and AI can't get it correct that he was picked at #2?
Stop using AI to make points. It's absolute garbage and it throws inaccurate information out there. I'll take a wild guess that there are more mistakes on that chart than just Harper going "#6", but I'm not looking for them. Garbage in, garbage out.
Padrino
All-Star
Yeah, I've tried to be patient with our fellow forum members who are far more optimistic about the "advantages" of AI than I am... but whenever I see it deployed anywhere at KF.com (or anywhere on the internet at large), it's an immediate signal for me to tune that individual out.
sactowndog
Hall of Famer
Just goes to show what happens when you post at 3:00 am while you are awake from an extracted infected tooth. At least it kept my mind off the pain.
sactowndog
Hall of Famer
There probably are. I worked to identify correct and edit the wrong ones. However
1) it was 3:00 am,
2) my jaw was killing me
3) I knew you would identify any further errors ;-)
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QWERTYLICIOUS
Starter
AI is only as effective as the user who is using it. The problem with AI is that it almost always requires a great deal of user input in order to be effective enough to the users' satisfaction. If you don't know how to prompt your specific AI engine of choice (i.e. ChatGPT), then you're going to be disappointed with the results. I've been using ChatGPT fairly extensively for a number of "side projects", and I will tell you that with a good amount of prompting, it eventually does provide what you are looking for. It does have the tendency to go off on a little bit of a tangent, but it then becomes up to you, the user, to bring it back on track. In this instance, a simple "Harper didn't go at #6. I thought this person did????" would likely bring the discussion back on track.Yeah, I've tried to be patient with our fellow forum members who are far more optimistic about the "advantages" of AI than I am... but whenever I see it deployed anywhere at KF.com (or anywhere on the internet at large), it's an immediate signal for me to tune that individual out.
AI still has a long way to go before I can consider it to be beneficial. It likely will never be one of those things where I can say with 100% certainty that it is the best thing out there. In some areas, it is pretty good. In other areas, I'd much rather not at that point...
sactowndog
Hall of Famer
My point is not that we have been good drafting.
But you can be bad a drafting and be bad at positioning yourself in the draft.
Both can be true.
sactowndog
Hall of Famer
AI confused Harper and Dillingham. Spurs still had 1. Dillingham at 8
Insomniacal Fan
Starter
I'd like it if we took a hiatus from analogies.
All those things only begin to matter after you have the assets to manage. Domas was a trade, but we needed to trade the results of 2 draft hits in order to get him (DMC became Buddy via trade, Tyrese has been our singular example of a significant draft hit in the late lottery). The Beam team can be reduced to converting 4 draft hits into one team.
Every trade we've made has bled talent in order to get a better fit. That's fine, but it's not sustainable. All the aerodynamics in the world won't matter if you don't have gas in the tank.
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Joshyjosh31
Starter
Believe me, I understand that. And I agree that we should rebuild. But, again, the draft is one small part of a rebuild; one that is based on a crapshoot of luck and hopes on an unproven 19-year-old instead of based on acquiring NBA-proven talent. Which, when you get a LeBron or a Wemby in your crapshoot - that's great when the lottery balls happen to fall your way in the few years that a clear #1 is available.
You can see what happened for us the few years we've had top 3 picks.
We did, however, get talent in some drafts and "get our guy". And it didn't work because we were only focused on the draft and not on rebuilding correctly.
So when we tank 3-4 years in a row and they are all bad drafts or the lottery balls don't quite favor us (as they haven't in the past), then what? When all we have is a Bagley and a Robinson and an Owens to show for it? What do we do then? We're in the same place we've been previously because we only put our faith in a < 25% chance at getting someone good instead of effectively managing assets, including our picks.
How about we just get back to the last bolded part then? It's a bit different now, but that just means you need to sharpen your pencils a bit more and not make dumb decisions (like getting Dennis last summer, for one).
1. You act like bad drafts don't happen. They do. And when we're the one banking on the two or three first rounders we've managed to acquire for a future draft and it busts, hard, then what? We've put all our eggs in that one basket and we end up with a Pervis and a TRob. Wonderful!!!
2. You are again making my point for me. We had the draft pick position we needed and the talent was there. That's all we need, right? Woohoo, top 2 pick in a draft at least 3-4 deep and we're saved! Right? Right?
3. Again, you are making my point for me about asset management instead of necessarily making a pick.
4. and 5. We can't guarantee a top 3 pick, ever, the way the lottery works. Picks 1-4 all statistically land at pick #4. And that's assuming we can land in the bottom 4. We are way too talented (mismatched, but talented) to do that. It's all a crapshoot with the ping pong balls.
The league is intentionally discouraging the approach you are basing your entire premise on and has effectively GUARANTEED that nobody can "bank" on a top 3 pick. I don't get why that is so hard to understand.
Yes, we've historically had horrible luck with the draft lottery. Guess what - that could easily extend into the next 20 years as well! So keep hoping and wishing and banking on lucky ping-pong balls!
Padrino
All-Star
You and I just see things very differently. The Kings have almost never been focused on the draft, which is the biggest step toward rebuilding correctly. It is not a small part of the calculus; it's the largest (if you're a small market franchise). As I said, the Kings almost always do no more than make their pick and go home, and they've rarely prioritized the acquisition of additional draft picks in order to give themselves more bites at the apple, to give themselves insurance if, say, a top-5 selection doesn't reach the heights for which they hope. Good teams have done this and found themselves at the top of their conferences. Bad teams have not done this and consigned themselves to the basement. In the last fifteen years, it's but a lucky few (almost exclusively in gigantic media markets) that have managed to build winning rosters without substantially leveraging the draft.
Also, the league is not "a bit different now"; it's massively different now. The incentive structures have all changed since the Kings were a regular playoff entrant. When Scott Perry was hired, my biggest fear was that he'd be a GM who sees the league through this "old school" kind of lens, and doesn't quite grasp the best way to navigate an absolutely punishing CBA. There are things about the Perry regime that are still quite concerning to me thus far, but I am glad to see that they recognize the need to be judicious with long-term salary as they begin their version of a rebuild. You blithely approach the new CBA at your own peril if you're a GM in the modern NBA. Most importantly, you should be taking advantage of the value proposition that first round draft picks represent; they are the best bet to infuse your team with talent in a cost-conscientious way. Trade them for big money players who don't get you over the hump, and now you're stuck with no room to maneuver. We've seen that story play out repeatedly in Sacramento; it's why the Beam Team failed.
We...actually don't know that. We have no idea how well some players will perform in the NBA, or if injuries will take place, or whatever. Some "can't miss" players never pan out like we think they will. You can't actually "grade" a draft until maybe 4-5 years later.
I'm not saying some drafts can't seem to be better than others, and sometimes it plays out that way. But you are making definitive statements about something that won't be able to be determined for maybe a half decade.
I'm an engineer that has to look at risk differently than many; my primary concern in my work is protecting the public safety with my designs. I don't gamble on frivolous odds much. I probably look at risk/reward a lot different than others.
Actually, we have traded down to get several more picks (the Papa G draft, anyone?), gotten additional picks (Clifford), etc. Not consistently, as you say. But we have. Clifford is still to be evaluated, but so far this approach hasn't worked out too effectively for us, either. With a competent ownership group and FO, it would probably work a lot better.
I don't disagree with you on most of this, in theory. I just see us keep bringing in the "value propositions" of TRob, Bagley, etc., every year and keep thinking about how great it is that we just have lower contract amounts for players that still aren't performing. That theory just isn't panning out for us most of the time. We'll see if that is changing under Scott. Hard to say given some of the contract moves he did this summer. I don't have a lot of hope, but one never knows.
I didn't say trade picks for huge $$$ players. Trade for good young players getting squeezed by the cap on other teams. Trade for a somewhat distressed but proven asset. Trade a shorter contract length and a pick for a much better young prospect for our timeline. I'm not saying it is easy. But the draft as your primary (only?) tool of improvement, as seems to be the idea for so many here, isn't my idea of a panacea given our history and choices.
sactowndog
Hall of Famer
The thing you left out is as a small market team we don’t have many “then what’s”. Los Angeles does, New York does, Miami does…. We don’t!
We have two choices: draft and trade. And to make a good trade takes getting good assets such as the rights to Billy Owen’s which were traded for Mitch Richmond. We never get Webb if we don’t get a top 3 pick and the 2000’s never happens.
Nobody is saying making good trades doesn’t matter. Monte proved that conclusively. But it all starts with being smart enough in your draft positioning you don’t have to be a complete genius. You only have to not be Vlade level dumb.
That means don’t put yourself in the position where your highest two odds are picks 6 and 7. Do whatever it takes to finish with the 3 seed or lower going into the lottery!
sactowndog
Hall of Famer
I think basketball pro’s do have a good idea of roughly where a draft will stand. It wasn’t a coincidence San Antonio tanked and reset when they did. We should have been sellers accumulating picks in the last years trade deadline. Instead we went after LaVine.
And how do we do that without losing our lottery pick for blatant tanking? We have too much talent (mismatched, but talent) to land bottom 3. And even bottom 3 still only promises a #4 pick statistically.
I'll say it again:
The league is intentionally discouraging the approach you are basing your entire premise on and has effectively GUARANTEED that nobody can "bank" on a top 3 pick.
It's up to ping-pong balls and we're going to keep seeing teams outside the top 5 dropping in to get top picks.
Padrino
All-Star
See, here's the thing: Marvin Bagley, Nik Stauskas, Ben McLemore, Thomas Robinson and every other first round failure the Kings have drafted actually have absolutely nothing at all to do with what happens next. Past failures need not dictate future performance. The Kings have been historically unlucky in the draft in a lot of real ways. The people in charge have also made some historically terrible judgment calls. But the young talent in the 2026 draft and beyond is its own challenge to navigate, separate from the foibles of prior front office personnel. It's fine enough for a fanbase to allow themselves to be discouraged by the mistakes of the past, but if the Kings front office looks to that history and allows it to intimidate them, well, then this team is just never getting anywhere. Might as well hang it up and go home.
You are correct. But we've been going through about 20 years of the same ineptitude (except for one abnormal bright spot a couple years back), and the current ownership was in place for over half that time. Until we see evidence of REAL change, I'll reserve the right to be skeptical that a pee-poor driver changing from a Ford to a Dodge is still going to be anything more than a pee-poor driver, just with a different car. The signing of Dennis, not working out something with Keon, etc., hasn't exactly given me a lot of hope. Playing the vets, sitting the youth, banishing Carter to the bench, etc., all indicate to me that things haven't changed that much...
What's that definition of insanity again?
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Insomniacal Fan
Starter
Admirable endurance! Time for you to enter a rebuilding periodAt this point, I think I've been annoying enough to those who worship draft picks as our only savior. I'll bow out. Have fun.
