NBA Draft Prospects: How Would Achiuwa Fit With Kings?

Weaknesses

Despite his ability to handle the ball, Achiuwa struggles to create for himself in the half-court. His faceup game is shaky at best, and it seems like he tries to avoid those matchups and the mid-range jumpers that they create. And while his shooting touch has improved, his shot selection has not.

He is right hand dominant, and this leads to some shortcomings on the offensive end. He doesn’t have the finesse moves to get around defenders and lacks the ability to switch hands and avoid traffic. He is sometimes sloppy with his handling and tends to force the issue a bit too much.

Another thing that NBA teams could take issue with is Achiuwa’s poor free-throw shooting. His average is south of 60 percent and he looks uncomfortable from the charity stripe at times. He could become a late-game liability for some teams, which could ultimately affect his draft stock.

Fit With Kings

Depending on where the Kings pick lands in the 2020 NBA Draft, Achiuwa could be one of the more likely players that they select. Their pick will likely land in the 12-14 range depending on how the rest of the regular season plays out. If there is one.

There are many different avenues that the Kings might take this summer when it comes to their frontcourt. Depending on who returns, there could be a hole to fill at the small and power forward positions. The Kings won’t necessarily be looking for a go-to bench scorer in this draft, but potentially a solid role player who can provide a spark to the second unit through his hustle and defense. Sacramento has plenty of shooters on both the first and second units, so Achiuwa would have time to develop his offensive repertoire without being counted on to make plays.

The Kings might be wary of a pick like this, or at least they should be. It wasn’t long ago that they took a primary hand-dominant freakishly athletic big man, and so far it hasn’t exactly worked out as they would have hoped. They could be better off plugging another hole like a perimeter defender with their first-round pick, but don’t be surprised if it is Achiuwa walking across the stage to shake Adam Silver’s hand in a Sacramento Kings hat.