5 Stars the Sacramento Kings missed drafting by a single pick

3. Julius Randle

In 2014, the Sacramento Kings had the eighth overall pick and with it, the chance to select a potential franchise player. They went with Michigan guard Nik Stauskas, a selection that did not turn out well. 

Stauskas played only one season with the Kings in which he was incredibly inefficient, shooting only 36.5 percent from the field. The Kings eventually traded him to the Philadelphia 76ers where he played better for two seasons. Those two seasons actually marked his best years in the NBA, but after that, he never played more than 44 games and is now out of the league. 

It is always painful to waste a lottery pick on a player who does not fulfill the expectations that come with that, but selecting Stauskas eighth overall is even worse if you consider who was drafted after him. Julius Randle, who has been a three-time All-Star so far, was drafted with the ninth overall pick, right after the Kings selected Stauskas. 

While Randle is currently injured and watching the playoffs from the bench, he has been a big part of the Knicks’ success, and the Kings could certainly have used his talent. Besides Randle, the 2014 draft also still had Zach LaVine, Kyle Anderson, Jerami Grant, and Nikola Jokic available when it was the Kings’ turn to make their selection.