Considering how badly the Sacramento Kings are doing this season, it seems impossible that they won't end up with at least the first or second draft pick. In this round of FanSided's NBA Mock Draft, the Kings get the number two spot and use it to select embattled guard Darryn Peterson.
Currently a Jayhawk with the University of Kansas, Peterson came out of high school with an incredible amount of justified hype. He's a dominant scorer who can handle the ball beautifully and is just as comfortable with catch and shoot threes as he is finishing at the rim.
If you look at his high school numbers and even his college numbers, Peterson has the potential to be one of the most impressive scorers at guard fans have seen in years. The problem is the "issues" he has had in Kansas and the perception that has come with them.
Some see Peterson as a problem child
Throughout Darryn's short tenure as a Jayhawk, he has regularly been unavailable to play, sometimes checking himself out of games. While he isn't at full health, there has been a debate going on as to whether his continual absences are due to injuries or a lack of competitive spirit.
Specifically, there are people who have accused him of not putting in his best effort because he doesn't want to play for Kansas. There are others who have suggested he's not taking college ball seriously because he's looking past it to the NBA.
Anyone who casts Darryn Peterson in that light is ignoring his entire high school career and how hard he competed. He had passion for the game and most likely still does. As any player will tell you, it's hard to go full steam when you have series of nagging injury issues.
The Kings taking Peterson is the wrong choice for different reasons
Any Kings' fan would probably respond to Sacramento drafting another guard with a double facepalm of epic proportions. Yes, they have a lot of guards, many of whom will be moving on in the coming year or two. What they need is another good, young guard to develop through the rebuild process.
That could easily Peterson. Keeping that in mind, the Kings should not be worried about his will to compete. They should be worried about his durability. Darryn is only 19-years-old, and is already being dogged by injury issues. Sacramento already has Keegan Murray for that.
A previous FanSided NBA Mock Draft also gave Sacramento the second pick which they used for star Duke forward Cameron Boozer. That would probably still be the better option for the Kings in this scenario, assuming the team that gets the first pick doesn't take AJ Dybantsa.