The Sacramento Kings selected Frank Mason at pick 34 overall in the 2017 NBA Draft. His drop was a shocking one, but in the end, it is good for the team. He is a steal.
The Sacramento Kings came into the draft with a plethora of positions to fill. Last season, the point guard depth chart featured Darren Collison, Ty Lawson, and Langston Galloway. However, all three had uncertain futures coming into the draft, and Sactown needed something new. And new is what we received.
Point Guards of the future
The Kings selected former Kentucky point guard De’Aaron Fox at pick five overall in a move that was expected but not official. In the second round, the Kings pretty much stated what their point guard intents are for the future. They selected the 2016-2017 John R. Wooden and Naismith Player of the Year winner Frank Mason, point guard from Kansas.
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In his senior year at Kansas, Mason averaged 20.9 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 5.2 assists per game. These are solid numbers for a guard that is deemed to be too short (5’11) to play the point in the NBA.
Do not sleep on him
On the day of the draft, Mason tweeted a cryptic message using emoji’s which was clearly because of his drop:
"…— Frank Mason (@FrankMason0) June 23, 2017…— Frank Mason (@FrankMason0) June 23, 2017"
I see this tweet as him being slept on by all of the teams passing on him and him shutting them up once his career commences.
I do not understand why everybody passed up on Mason (sucks for them). He is not starting material yet, but he will be a vocal point for Joerger’s scheme both offensively and defensively. He is not the size of a modern-day point guard, but he brings in toughness both offensively and defensively and a willingness to score. He’s a perfect fit (as a rookie) to lead the second team or first if necessary and only time will tell how great this kid can be.
After being drafted, he tweeted out this:
"Thanks for believing in me @SacramentoKings, I promise you won’t regret it.— Frank Mason (@FrankMason0) June 23, 2017"
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It’s clear that Mason is a young and hungry player that wants to be the best he can be. A player of his caliber/stats who dropped all the way to the Kings at 34 overall leads me to believe that he will be the steal of the draft. If he doesn’t turn out to be as good as I say, ignore that this all ever happened.