With the Draft order finalized and Rudy Gay is saying bye-bye, we can begin to dream about next year’s Sacramento Kings roster.
It’s hard to imagine Ben Mclemore, Langston Galloway, or Aaron Afflalo remaining with the Sacramento Kings. Bye guys. Garrett Temple remains because he deserves to stay. And, oh yes, because he’s under contract.
Shooting Guard
With Buddy Hield, Bogdan Bogdanovic (hopefully he signs), and Malachi Richardson, the Kings have more firepower at the two position then—perhaps–in the entire history of the team.
Center
With Willie Cauley-Stein, Kosta Koufos, and Georgios Papagiannis, the rim protection is never a worry.
Power Forward
With Skal Labissiere and Anthony Tolliver, the four position has lots of upsides.
Point Guard
With Darren Collison and Ty Lawson both unrestricted free agents, something creative and perhaps lucky has to happen. These guys need to a) want to come back and b) the Kings will need to pay (especially for Collison) big bucks.
Small Forward
With Gay gone, there’s a gaping void at the three position. Aaron Afflalo and Tyreke Evans? These talented veterans are not solutions but rather stopgap players without a future on a team undergoing a reset.
Draft Day is June 22
Kings Pick Fifth
The 76ers may have picked off De’Aaron Fox when the Kings’ turn comes. If not, grab him. The only knock on this 19-year-old is that he only converted one of every four of his 3 point attempts in his lone college season. He does everything else and may be faster to the hoop than John Wall. Fox is a natural born scorer.
If Fox is not available? The choices to replace Rudy Gay, Matt Barnes and Omri Casspi are: (along with their beyond-the-arc percentages this past year): Josh Jackson (37.8%), Jayson Tatum (34.2%), and Jonathan Isaac (34.8%). Each one comes with the promise of becoming a starter and perhaps an All-Star.
Kings Pick Tenth
Either 6’5” Frank Ntilikina from the Euroleague or 6’2” Dennis Smith Jr. from NC State should be available at Point Guard. Smith tore an ACL senior year of high school; Jabari Parker tore his left ACL twice. Does that make Smith a question mark? Probably. If both Smith and Ntilikina are off the board, or the Kings already have De’Aaron Fox, 7’0” Lauri Markkanen would be a solid choice. He’s a threat at PF or SF from beyond the arc where last year at Arizona he shot 42.3%. He’s more Kyle Korver than Dirk Nowitzki.
What is the biggest problem for the Divac Brain Trust? It is easily solving the Point Guard quandary. What are the chances the Kings sign a Free Agent PG? They have the cap space but the I’m-Afraid-to-Work-With-Nutty-Vivek syndrome continues to haunt the Kings. So do the Kings re-sign both Darren Collison and Ty Lawson? If possible, yes, yes, and yes.
Next: A Royal Round Up: Sacramento Kings Mock Draft Edition
This reset of the 2017-18 Sacramento Kings will involve lots of inexperience with a bountiful upside. I’m ready.