Who do we draft?

ESP47 · May 9, 2017

I think people are wondering if Hield can score 20ppg on a good team. Like say we were the 6th seed in the playoffs. Is Buddy going to be our 20ppg possible leading scorer? I say the odds are slim but it's certainly not an impossibility.

Can Buddy be a 20ppg scorer on a 25 win Kings team in 2018? Absolutely.

I feel like the context that most people are using when they talk about our younger guys is the future with the Kings in the playoffs. Most aren't salivating at what these guys can accomplish in the basement of the Western conference with no hope in sight.

funkykingston · May 9, 2017

Joshoua said:

The hope would be (assuming there isn't a lot of movement in the lottery) that Fultz, Jackson & Ball go top 3, Philly takes Monk, Orlando takes Tatum and Minny opts for a floor spacer in Markkanen.

That would give the Kings their choice of Fox or Smith Jr.

Dallas likely takes the PG the Kings don't pick and Vlade grabs Isaac at 10.

Fox and Isaac is my ideal scenario but Smith & Isaac or Ntilikina & Isaac would be great too.

funkykingston · May 9, 2017

ESP47 said:

I think people are wondering if Hield can score 20ppg on a good team. Like say we were the 6th seed in the playoffs. Is Buddy going to be our 20ppg possible leading scorer? I say the odds are slim but it's certainly not an impossibility.

Can Buddy be a 20ppg scorer on a 25 win Kings team in 2018? Absolutely.

I feel like the context that most people are using when they talk about our younger guys is the future with the Kings in the playoffs. Most aren't salivating at what these guys can accomplish in the basement of the Western conference with no hope in sight.

For me the hope isn't that Buddy can average 20-25 ppg but that he and Skal can form a potent duo.

Joshoua · May 9, 2017

funkykingston said:

The question would be wouldn't Thibs favor a defensive guy like Issac he'd be perfect at Pf for them

funkykingston · May 9, 2017

Joshoua said:

Yes, I think Isaac lands in Minnesota if he isn't taken before that. Dean Demakis made an argument for Isaac being a better defending version of Marvin Williams. That's not a great ceiling but it's a fantastic floor. But he's not ready to be that type of player right now. He still has a slow shooting motion and disappears a bit too often. You could argue that was due to how he was used at Florida St (and I believe that's part of it) but the other part is that he's young and a ways away from being the player he can be. Thibs may decide that he doesn't want to wait on another young guy developing, especially after Dunn's lackluster rookie year.

The only other ways I could see Isaac to Minny not happening is if Thibs either trades the pick or decides that floor spacing is a bigger issue. Isaac looks like he COULD be a decent stretch four who can also play the SF while being a good defender and rebounder. But Markkanen is an elite shooting big right now. It would be out of character for him to go offense over defense, but maybe his year out of the league and spending time with Kerr, George Karl etc opened him up more to the idea of needing shooting/scoring to win in today's NBA.

That's my hope.

Kingster · May 9, 2017

More than anything, Minni needs a point guard who can shoot. They've done the six-year experiment with a non-outside shooting point guard, who is an excellent play maker by the way, and its failed miserably. At some point they have to throw in the Rubio towel and get a vet pg who can shoot 3s. Unless they are brain dead, they won't go after Fox or Nt in the draft.

dude12 · May 9, 2017

Why not Markannen to Minny? I think with the way the NBA is evolving, a 7' power forward who can shoot lights out from 3 is going to be a valued piece, especially with him being so young. Lots of focus on his weaknesses which is understandable, but his strength is a desired skill. Minny needs outside shooting beyond KAT.

I don't think Fox is going to drop to us. He's a top 6 guy. At some point in that top 6 he's BPA and will get taken

biltalent · May 9, 2017

Guessing what Thibs will do is really interesting. I have no clue. But if I'm the Kings I'm trying to get a read on it.

Normally I'd say he will go with the best upper classmen. Most coaching GMs seem to be drawn to more "ready players" (see Rivers, Doc). I suppose this is because their focus is more on the roster next year than in the future. Thibs did it last year with Dunn too who reportedly was #1 on his board. Problem this year is, there are only freshmen in the top ten.

Josh Jackson is the only older freshmen and screams Thibs to me, but he is likely gone at #6.

Somehow this has me wondering whether OG Anunoby could be in Thib's top ten. He fits beautifully next to Wiggins and Towns. He also has two college seasons under his belt and seems pretty mature.

But taking Anunoby at #6 seems like a reach. But if OG is his guy, I wonder whether we could help out and work something around #10 plus cap relief (Pekovic?) in exchange for #6. Other parts may be involved, but this would give Thibs the chance to take his guy without media backlash and dumping ~10 mil dead money to create room for a max contract in free agency.
Oh, and we get to pick #6 and #8 by the way. But I swear, I'm only trying to help Thibs out.

hrdboild · May 9, 2017

Minnesota needs shooting and they need defense, both pretty equally, so it'll be interesting to see what they do with their pick. Isaac and Markkanen look like the best fits to me but Thibs has only been GM for one year so I don't have a read on him yet. He's known as a defensive maestro so my first thought is he goes that direction (meaning Markkanen is probably out) but that team was also last in the league in 3pM per game and if they're moving forward with Rubio at PG, there are limited options for how they can improve that. Again that leads me back to Isaac. Not only does he help with both of those needs, but his size means he can play PF with Wiggins at SF or he can play SF with Wiggins at SG depending on matchups. Something else I could see, they have Dunn/Rubio as their PGs and LaVine as their SG and occasional backup PG. I could see them slotting Monk into the backcourt as a proven shot-maker and then hiding him on defense with Rubio, Dunn, and LaVine taking the tougher matchup in the backcourt. His trapping defense is more team-oriented than one on one anyway so traditional position assignments don't really matter. Tatum, Fox, and Ntilikina don't seem like ideal fits but those are all possibilities for them too if they go strictly BPA.

So then I guess that's just a long-winded way of saying I have no idea!

bajaden · May 9, 2017

hrdboild said:

Minnesota needs shooting and they need defense, both pretty equally, so it'll be interesting to see what they do with their pick. Isaac and Markkanen look like the best fits to me but Thibs has only been GM for one year so I don't have a read on him yet. He's known as a defensive maestro so my first thought is he goes that direction (meaning Markkanen is probably out) but that team was also last in the league in 3pM per game and if they're moving forward with Rubio at PG, there are limited options for how they can improve that. Again that leads me back to Isaac. Not only does he help with both of those needs, but his size means he can play PF with Wiggins at SF or he can play SF with Wiggins at SG depending on matchups. Something else I could see, they have Dunn/Rubio as their PGs and LaVine as their SG and occasional backup PG. I could see them slotting Monk into the backcourt as a proven shot-maker and then hiding him on defense with Rubio, Dunn, and LaVine taking the tougher matchup in the backcourt. His trapping defense is more team-oriented than one on one anyway so traditional position assignments don't really matter. Tatum, Fox, and Ntilikina don't seem like ideal fits but those are all possibilities for them too if they go strictly BPA.

So then I guess that's just a long-winded way of saying I have no idea!

Well done!

Suicide King · May 9, 2017

I think another variable besides what Thibbs may do is being overlooked. There is a good chance Philly will get two picks before our first selection, unless we move up somehow. The Lakers pick goes to Philly if it falls out of top three.

Who might Philly pick then if they were selecting say 4th and 5th?

Yet another reason I hope we can move up either through luck or negotiation.

kingdivac · May 9, 2017

Suicide King said:

Even though I dont really care for the Lakers, I'd rather see them pick in the top 3.....having the Sixers pick two players might mean losing Issac, as the 6ers won't pick 2 PGs.

Telemachus · May 9, 2017

kingdivac said:

Remember that if the Lakers lose their 1st rd pick this year, they also lose their 1st rd pick in 2019. That could be devastating to their rebuild.

Capt. Factorial · May 9, 2017

Telemachus said:

Wow, I didn't realize they had ANOTHER ugly trade hanging over their heads. There's about a 53% chance of total disaster happening there.

Telemachus · May 9, 2017

Capt. Factorial said:

I don't know the details, just repeating what I heard elsewhere.

Capt. Factorial · May 9, 2017

Telemachus said:

http://basketball.realgm.com/nba/draft/future_drafts/detailed

This page is the absolute go-to on draft pick trades. You heard right, of course. I just hadn't studied the entire page carefully enough to know just how bad off the Lakers could be.

Telemachus · May 9, 2017

Capt. Factorial said:

We can only hope.

Kingster · May 10, 2017

And with the #10 pick, the Sacramento Kings select: HAMIDOU DIALLO, 6'6" SG, KENTUCKY.

http://www.sbnation.com/nba/2017/5/...-lonzo-ball-los-angeles-lakers-markelle-fultz

https://www.si.com/college-basketball/2017/04/25/hamidou-diallo-kentucky-nba-draft

http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Hamidou-Diallo-90256/

ockingsfan · May 10, 2017

Kingster said:

And with the #10 pick, the Sacramento Kings select: HAMIDOU DIALLO, 6'6" SG, KENTUCKY.

http://www.sbnation.com/nba/2017/5/...-lonzo-ball-los-angeles-lakers-markelle-fultz

https://www.si.com/college-basketball/2017/04/25/hamidou-diallo-kentucky-nba-draft

http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Hamidou-Diallo-90256/

Just NO!!!

NO more SGs!!!

upinsmoke · May 10, 2017

Kingster said:

Tread lightly with sbnation some of their writers are just spam.

hrdboild · May 10, 2017

Kingster said:

Why wouldn't we just take Ntilikina at 10 in that scenario (if we've taken Dennis Smith at #8)? Since we're already overloaded with SGs anyway, at least with Ntilikina we'd be getting a guy who can play both guard positions not to mention you have two chances to land a starting PG with the other player getting backup minutes on the ball. I don't know that it would be the best use of our picks, trading down and trying to land a young SF and another pick might make more sense, but it would sure be better than a deep reach for yet another scoring guard to add to the Malachi, Bogdan, Buddy mix.

upinsmoke · May 10, 2017

hrdboild said:

Why wouldn't we just take Ntilikina at 10 in that scenario (if we've taken Dennis Smith at #8)? Since we're already overloaded with SGs anyway, at least with Ntilikina we'd be getting a guy who can play both guard positions not to mention you have two chances to land a starting PG with the other player getting backup minutes on the ball. I don't know that it would be the best use of our picks, trading down and trying to land a young SF and another pick might make more sense, but it would sure be better than a deep reach for yet another scoring guard to add to the Malachi, Bogdan, Buddy mix.

I agree I would look to trade back and grab OG if the chips fell this way.
Edit: I just pull trigger on him too risky.

206Fan · May 10, 2017

dude12 said:

hrdboild said:

I think people are overrating Minny's need for a shooting PF. Their biggest need on the team is defense. Offense is not a problem for that team at all. Wiggins is a legitimate 20+ppg scorer. KAT is a legitimate 20+ppg scorer. LaVine has been proven to be at least, a 15+ppg scorer. Yes they want some floor spacing, but defense is much more important for that team going forward. They have abysmal defensive players. As good of a scorer Wiggins is, he's somehow god-awful on that end despite all of his elite physical tools.

If anything, they need shooting from their PG position.

206Fan · May 10, 2017

I think there's a very realistic chance that Tatum is available at 8. If Tatum is there at 8, with DSJ or Fox off the board, I'd take him in a heartbeat.

The_Jamal · May 10, 2017

206Fan said:

Why? I'd be thrilled if he were as he's one of my favorite players in the draft, but I've all but written him off as a option for us.

Jimbob · May 10, 2017

206Fan said:

Someone always falls a bit. If three of Monk, Smith, Frank or Markkanen find homes in the top 7, Tatum likely falls. I never hear anyone here comment on Tatum but he fills a need.

hrdboild · May 10, 2017

206Fan said:

I don't think they need a shooting PF, I just think they need outside shooting period. They were worst in the league. Defense is probably a bigger concern but they were terrible this year overall and like you said they still put up a lot of points. It's probably not realistic to think that a couple defensive players are going to turn them into a winning team. Scoring efficiency should be a concern as well if they're serious about making the playoffs for a change. Their playoff drought is even longer than ours.

bajaden · May 10, 2017

Capt. Factorial said:

Yeah, I have a friend that lives in Mulege that's a Laker fan and he''s going to summer league this year. He's been raving about who the Lakers are going to pick. I pointed out to him that the odds are good that the Lakers get bumped and lose the pick along with the 2019 pick. The lakers made some extremely bad moves, including the Mozgov and Deng signings. I won't feel sorry for the Lakers, but I will feel sorry for my friend. Maybe!

206Fan · May 10, 2017

The_Jamal said:

When you breakdown the guys who have a need for a SF (outside of top 3), it gets narrowing small. Just going off the current standings:

#4: There's 0 way philly takes a SF imo. Especially a ball dominant SF like Tatum.. on a team of Simmons, Saric, Okafor, and Embiid? There's just no way that happens. They don't need wing depth. Simmons can play either forward position, and unless he's bulked up and got slower, he has more than enough quickness to guard SFs.

#5: Orlando might take a SF, but they have so many random crap going on with their roster right now. PG: Is Elfird Payton the franchise PG? Can he even be a starting PG in this league? SF: Is Gordon the franchise SF? Or is he the franchise PF? WAIT, is he their franchise player completely? They have way too many question marks around their roster. I just can't see them taking a position other than PG. Tatum is a very good player, but at #5, they're in a position where they can draft a franchise player AND pg in DSJ. If you draft DSJ, he fits next to everyone, and you're not going to have the Oladipo-Payton-Harris-Gordon problem where no one fits next to anybody.

#6: Minnesota won't draft another iso SF.

#7: Knicks could draft a SF here, but it seems like they could go with a franchise PG to pair next to Porzingis. Porzingis is a huge PnR threat. If you watch his Euro tape, he would swiftly roll to the rim, and finish a vicious oop. We haven't seen that much in the NBA, mostly because they Knicks haven't had a PG who could feed him that way. Who the hell knows what's on Phil's mind though. I personally think Porzingis is more effective when he has others creating for him.

There's a very real chance that Tatum is available at 8.

bajaden · May 10, 2017

I'd be fine with Diallo at 34 in the second round, but not at 10. He was one of the highest ranked players in the nation coming out of high school, but never played a minute last season. Personally, I think that if he doesn't get a first round promise from a team he'll return to school.

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