A Royal Pain
Fansided

Thoughts: Yes, Can I Get A #00 With Extra Playing Time For Willie Cauley-Stein Please

By Rafe Wong

Oct 30, 2015; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings center Willie Cauley-Stein (00) dribbles the ball against the Los Angeles Lakers in the fourth quarter at Sleep Train Arena. The Kings won 132-114. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 30, 2015; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings center Willie Cauley-Stein (00) dribbles the ball against the Los Angeles Lakers in the fourth quarter at Sleep Train Arena. The Kings won 132-114. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

It has been a while since the Sacramento Kings drafted a rookie that was able to perform at an acceptable level in his rookie season. So far this year Willie Cauley-Stein has been what Kings fans have expected and more.

When originally drafting the 7-foot redwood out of the University of Kentucky, the Kings were hoping Trill would be a versatile defender for the Kings and throughout the process make strides in his offensive game.

Thus far Cauley-Stein has done that. He has been able to be a rim protector for his team and also someone that the team can rely on to guard multiple positions.

In terms of his offensive game, he continues to make progress as his jump shot and post-game have improved by the dribble.

With Kings fans finally being optimistic about having a young and promising player on the roster, they also express frustration as the Kings rookie hasn’t received much playing time this season.

More from Kings News

Through 49 games this season Cauley-Stein is only averaging 19.3 minutes a game. In terms of the averages that is ranked 8th among the rest of his teammates. Also, in the month of March (5 games so far) he is averaging a mere 10 minutes of action per game.

It’s frustrating to see Trill constantly on the bench throughout games because he has shown to be consistently effective when he is on the court.

Obviously, Cauley-Stein’s strongest trait is his defense, and he has shown to be one of the better defensive players on his team. It would make sense for a team that has been epically bad on the defensive end this season to put in their defensive-oriented player more.

Sacramento Kings fans are not the only ones concerned about the lack of playing time that Cauley-Stein has been getting lately. Just recently Cauley-Stein himself expressed his dissatisfaction in not getting enough minutes on the court as well.

In his interview with the Cowbell Kingdom, and other insiders, Cauley-Stein expressed his thoughts on the issue. You can listen to the details from the video below.

Overall, Cauley-Stein has shown promise that he can be a significant piece to the puzzle that is the Sacramento Kings for their future and even immediately. Yet he still has not been given the playing time that he deserves from his head coach George Karl.

It is also worth noting that it is inevitable that the Kings will end this regular season without a ticket to the playoffs.

More from A Royal Pain

With that being said, it should make more sense for the Kings to play Cauley-Stein so the rookie can get more acclimated to the speed, strength, and experience of the NBA.

Whether or not Cauley-Stein gets more playing time going forward is uncertain. Whether or not his recent interview helped his case is uncertain as well.

What has been proven to be concrete though is that Cauley-Stein does have a place on this roster to be effective and until he gets more playing time he won’t be able to showcase his production to the fullest.

Home/Kings News