The Sacramento Kings recently shocked their fans by abruptly trading Nique Clifford to the Thunder. Then, another former first round draft pick showed up with the Heat that night to show things do get better. Davion Mitchell is a prime example of how the Kings keep botching draft pick development.
Given how tepid the Heat have been this season, the Kings actually had a chance to pick up their second win of the season. They didn't because they're the Kings. A major reason for that was Giannis Antetokounmpo, who had 29 points, 14 rebounds, three assists, two steals, and two blocks.
Another big player for the Heat was Mitchell, their starting point guard. He finished with a double-double of his own consisting of 17 points and 11 rebounds. That's his fifth double-double of the season, and he hasn't had a game that he didn't score in double digits so far.
One more missed opportunity for Sacramento
For the Kings, Mitchell is another mistake they get to watch succeed. Sacramento drafted Mitchell 9th overall in 2021. They put little effort into developing him while he spent the better part of three seasons backing up De'Aaron Fox. Then, the Kings traded him to the Raptors.
Mitchell quickly moved on to the Heat, where he has flourished under head coach Eric Spoelstra. Miami has a well-defined culture and clear system for developing young talent. Essentially, it's the exact opposite of whatever the Kings think they're doing most of the time.
With the Heat showing up in Sacramento, Mitchell helping Miami hand the Kings their ninth loss of the season has to sting a bit. Making that even worse is Sacramento's recent dubious decision to trade Clifford away to the Thunder as he could also thrive in a much better run organization.
Clifford will return to Sacramento a drastically different player
Like Mitchell, Clifford was drafted in the first round by the Kings. Instead of putting real effort into developing him into a legit 3&D wing, the Kings' coaching staff putzed around. Once again, they have absolutely dropped the ball on a young player who could have done great things for them.
Even worse, all they got was two second round picks. The front office could have packaged Mitchell with Domantas Sabonis to get him out the door, too. The short-sightedness of this franchise never fails to amaze. As usual, the only thing holding the Sacramento Kings back is the Sacramento Kings.
For Clifford, he'll find his game on the Thunder in a system that thrives on developing young stars like him. Next week, Clifford will return to Sacramento with OKC and get to enjoy a win in Golden 1 Center for the second time this year. And the Kings will get yet another mistake rubbed in their faces.
Add us as a preferred source on Google