Will the Sacramento Kings move up in the NBA Draft?
By John Buhler
Every June, we see the same thing — the Sacramento Kings hanging out near the top of the NBA Draft. They actually have two picks in the top-10 this year, their own No. 5 pick and the No. 10 pick the Kings gained from the DeMarcus Cousins trade with the New Orleans Pelicans.
Technically, the Kings landed the No. 3 overall pick in the upcoming draft. However, the Philadelphia 76ers had a right to a pick swap from a terrible trade the Kings made with them in the summer of 2015. Kings general manager Vlade Divac was reportedly unaware of how the mid-level exception worked. He opted to send Sacramento’s 2015 first-round pick, shooting guard Nik Stauskas, and the rights to the pick swap to Philadelphia in a panic move to clear space to sign a few also-ran free agents.
That awful trade with the 76ers aside, Sacramento faces the organization’s most important draft, arguably ever. This team has been beyond dysfunctional for the last decade plus. They might have a solid starter in shooting guard Buddy Hield that they received in the Cousins deal with the Pelicans. However, Sacramento has to nail these first two picks to have any hope of moving this lackluster, small-market franchise forward.
To be frank, can we even trust the Kings with two picks in the top-10? It’s painfully obvious what they need to do with these two picks: point guard and forward, probably in that order. However, there is a chance that the three best point guards in this draft, Markelle Fultz, Lonzo Ball and De’Aaron Fox, could all be off the board before the Kings pick at No. 5.
Drafting any of those three floor generals could theoretically give the Kings an All-Star level point guard for the next decade. Honestly if Sacramento is that desperate for a starting point guard at No. 5, they could take Dennis Smith Jr. out of North Carolina State, who seems to be the fourth point guard on most draft boards. However, he could potentially be available for the Kings picking again at No. 10. Frank Ntilikina, a long defensive-minded point guard from France, could also be enticing for Sacramento at 10.
In this upcoming NBA Draft, there are also two potential stars out on the wing in Kansas’ Josh Jackson and Duke’s Jayson Tatum. If Sacramento waits patiently at No. 5, they could have one of these five players on their roster because that’s how math works (Ball, Fox, Fultz, Jackson, Tatum).
From there, the Kings could draft for their other need at No. 10. If Sacramento can get its hands on Fox at No. 5, the Kings would be in the running to draft frontcourt players at No. 10 like Gonzaga’s Zach Collins, Florida State’s Jonathan Isaac or Arizona’s Lauri Markkanen. Should the Kings opt for either Jackson or Tatum at No. 5, then No. 10 is increasingly likely to be either Smith or Ntilikina, assuming either one is still on the board.
Then again, these are the Kings and they do as good of job as any team in basketball of messing up their first round pick. Stauskas? Stauskas. Exactly. Two picks in the top-10 only increases the likelihood that the Kings will mess up in the lottery part of the draft. So what if they put together a package to move up into the top-three or four?
There were rumors that the Kings were talking with the Sixers about moving up for that No. 3 pick that was originally theirs, but that option seems to be dead with the Sixers and Celtics nearing deal that would have Philly moving up to No. 1. The Kings might try to work out a deal with Boston for the No. 3 pick but there are also rumors that it might be headed to Chicago as part of a Jimmy Butler deal.
Swapping with the Los Angeles Lakers at No. 2 might be a tougher sell. Los Angeles will almost certainly take Ball, but has taken a liking to Jackson. Since both of those players are probably off the board before No. 5, it’s not a feasible sell for the Kings to do a draft day trade with the Lakers. The Lakers are always about star power and would be more likely to draft one at No. 2 than at No. 5 or No. 10.
Finally, would the Kings orchestrate another deal with the division rival Phoenix Suns to move up from No. 5 to No. 4? It would be a huge power move by the Suns to get No. 10 just so they don’t take the Kings’ guy at No. 4. Going up from No. 5 to No. 4 would indicate that the Kings are crazy about either Fox, Jackson or Tatum.
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The trade-up options are enticing but seem to have unraveled in the past few days. Still, Sacramento is in a great position to win in this draft by staying put at No. 5 and No. 10, assuming that the Kings organization believes in its talent evaluation and scouting department.