Welcome to A Royal Pain’s 2020 NBA Mock Draft 1.0. Where will the Sacramento Kings be picking and who might they select this coming June?
It is that time of year again, when many teams begin looking towards the NBA Draft and the potential prospects that could be available. As usual, this is true for the Sacramento Kings who would have the 11th overall pick if the season ended today and the lottery odds held true.
So who will be available when Sacramento makes their selection? There will be plenty of needs to fill for a team who has very limited spending money, so building through the draft is just as important now as it has ever been.
We dive in to our first lottery-centric mock draft of the spring ahead of March Madness, when plenty of the following information is subject to change. Like many of our colleagues on other FanSided sites, we have used a random simulation via Tankathon to determine the order of our mock. We even threw in a couple of trades that filled needs for the Suns and Celtics. (the standings were fluid as we wrote, so we tweaked the last few picks to fit current playoff projections)
The simulation that we ran had little movement. The Hawks were the big winners, who secured the first overall pick over the Warriors and Cavaliers who share a 14 percent shot at the top pick. The Warriors had the biggest decline, sliding all the way down to the fifth slot. Moving up to the third slot was the Knicks, a struggling franchise that would certainly welcome any stroke of luck.
As for the Kings, they made no movement, and they likely won’t unless they endure a serious losing streak to end the season. Being in the 11th slot grants a 9.4 percent chance of getting a top four pick, and a 2 percent chance at the first overall pick. But crazier things have happened. Last season, both the Grizzlies and Pelicans moved up 6 spots to the first and second overall picks, and the Hawks made a 7-spot leap and picked De’Andre Hunter with the fourth overall selection.
So who goes first in the Royal Pain Mock Draft 1.0?
The Atlanta Hawks are on the clock.
(These are not scouting reports. Our mock draft simply serves as a prediction based on team needs and a random simulation)