I'm all for moving down. I think there are going to be some very talented players that go late in this draft.
I don't see Minnesota having any choice but to draft Cousins at 4, just too much talent. However they also need a 3, so for them, getting the 5 pick relieves them from having to choose and possibly pass on Cousins for Johnson or Aminu, they just go ahead and get both. A draft for them of Cousins and Johnson, plus whatever they can get for Jefferson in a trade, would set them up nicely.
As long as Khan doesn't have too big of an ego and not want to admit a mistake, Jonny Flynn should be available. He didn't play well enough last year to justify his draft position, and is a poor fit for the triangle. With Sessions in place and Rubio eventually coming over, he is expendable and has enough value to get them help in areas they need it more. Obviously Flynn wouldn't be worth the 5 pick on his own, but Flynn and picks 16 and 23 would be worth picks 5 and 33, when considering the depth of this draft and the fit/quality of the guys we would be after with the 5.
For the Kings, assuming that Cousins is gone at 4, the next guys in line would be Johnson and Aminu who are small forwards, but unlike Turner, I don't see either one of them being good enough to ignore the horrible fit they would be with the 5 small forwards already on our roster. After that, there are at least 9-12 bigs that will be available after the 4 pick that all fall into the same tier, none are head and shoulders above any of the others-Aldrich, Monroe, Patterson, Udoh, Orton, Whiteside, Motejunas, Davis, Alabi and maybe Seraphin, Sanders and Lawal. Obviously everyone will have their favorites among those guys but in no way is it clear cut. With Avery Bradley, Paul George, Xavier Henry, Gordon Hayward and James Anderson in the mix, someone from the above group will be there at 23 as well. Considering Petrie's reputation picking outside of the lottery, I would feel very confident on getting two good players from that group.
Possible lineup after trade:
Beno/Flynn
Evans/Garcia/Bradley
Greene/Casspi/Nocioni/McGuire
Landry/Thompson
Hawes/Alabi/Brockman
Every player in the backcourt can spend time at both guard positions, and for the most part any two would be able to play together depending on matchups. I am content with the small forwards we have now although the position is still to crowded. If Alabi can play meaningful minutes, The frontcourt will be mostly interchangeable as well, and Alabi would go help the defensive woes. There isn't room for all these guys on the roster longterm, but we just choose the ones that fit best and move the others in consolidation trades. The beautiful thing about a team like this is that with all the young guys being so cheap and having potential, Nocioni is really the only player on the roster who doesn't carry a positive value to other teams.
Obviously there is no way to predict the draft turning out exactly like this, but with the talent available late, it looks to be a better option than what would be available to us at 5.
