NBA Draft: The case for the Sacramento Kings to select Luka Doncic

The 2018 NBA Draft is mere days away. The choice is clear that the Sacramento Kings should pick Luka Doncic with the second overall pick. But why?

As Thursday looms nearer and nearer, it appears that the Sacramento Kings have narrowed their potential number two selection down to three players. In all likelihood, Luka Doncic, Marvin Bagley III, or Michael Porter Jr. will be wearing purple in a matter of days. All are excellent players and prospects with their own strengths and weaknesses. However, it’s absolutely in the Kings’ best interests to not overthink it on Thursday and take who is almost universally considered to be one of the two best prospects in this year’s draft class.

That’s right, everybody, it’s another Luka Doncic article! Here are my reasons why he is the clear choice at the second spot of the 2018 NBA Draft.

His court vision improves the team right away

One of the reasons the Kings squads of the early 2000’s were so compelling was that everyone on the court looked to pass to their teammates. At their best, they were a true team, passing up individual glory in the interest of making others look good.

Must Read: 5 reasons the Kings need to sign Aaron Gordon

Doncic’s pass-first style of play will bring some of the old Arco thunder into the Golden 1 Center. He has the Nash-like (or J-Will?) ability to find his teammates almost anywhere on the court. Drafting Doncic could be the best thing to ever happen to guys like Buddy Hield, who can dine on those corner threes all game, or Willie Cauley-Stein, who can snag the many inevitable open lobs at the rim.

The kind of ball movement Luka provides tends to be infectious. I hate to bring them up but look at Lonzo Ball’s Lakers as an example. Ball has his faults, but his greatest strength is his passing ability. Even if he “only” averaged 7.2 assists this season, the game had clearly become more fun for everybody. The Kings can become that with Doncic in the lineup. And it’ll be a lot cooler because we wouldn’t have to be the Lakers.

Figuring out his fit with the squad can put the Kings back in the playoffs.

The old teams are great, but what about the current team? Concerns about Doncic’s fit with the current Kings lineup have been expressed before on this very site by, er, me. However, it’s not a total wash inserting Doncic alongside De’Aaron Fox and Bogdan Bogdanovic. In fact, figuring out how to balance three good-to-excellent initiators in the same lineup is likely the best path to relevancy for Sacramento. That’s the kind of creativity it’ll take to succeed in the modern NBA. Doncic gives them that opportunity more than any other player being considered at the second pick right now.

Luka Doncic is a unique enough talent that it shouldn’t be as difficult as some people may think to slot him into the team as currently constructed. Doncic can play the one, two or three spot. His addition would suddenly give the Kings a kind of faux-depth they didn’t have before. Buddy, Bogdan, or Luka himself could command the second unit depending on the particular opponent. For this reason, Doncic’s presence on the team would push the team’s rebuild along quite nicely.

Doncic is choice teams like Sacramento don’t often make.

Simply put, Sacramento as an organization has a reputation for not always getting out of their own way. To that end, consider which organizations are currently trying to trade up. Reports suggest the Clippers have their eyes on Doncic. The Clips, lest you forget, are presently spearheaded by Jerry West, no less than one of the greatest minds in league history. Dallas has also made him a target. They are no slouches themselves. These teams’ interest should mean something to the Kings front office.

Thursday will tell us a lot about what the front office’s mindset is. If the pick is Marvin Bagley, it wouldn’t be the end of the world. He can easily put up 20 and 10 with exciting highlight plays. But he would only add to the Kings’ current glut of unproven big men. He also would do little to alleviate the Kings’ current poor defensive make-up. He is the safe, short-term choice.

On the other hand, taking Michael Porter Jr., even with 100% assurance that he is currently healthy, would be an insane risk so high in the draft. Not only would Vlade be putting his own job on the line, but he may finally break the patience of a beleaguered fanbase. He is the risky choice.

That leaves Luka. Luka Doncic can represent the bold, long-term, firmly-in-the-modern-era choice that ends the era of KANGZ. That is, of course, as long as the Kings have the ingenuity to recognize it.

Conclusion

I should be perfectly clear that, regardless of who the Kings pick, I’ll be rooting like mad for them to succeed. I may be grumpy for a night, but come Friday morning, Bagley or Porter will be like a family member to me, and I’ll be fiercely defensive of them.

Next: 5 reasons the Kings need to draft Luka Doncic

But at this moment, only Luka Doncic will make me feel like the Kings are heading back to relevancy. I would very much like that feeling to return. I suspect you do, too.

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