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2018 NBA Draft: 5 best fits for Luka Doncic

By Brandon Jefferson

Real Madrid Luka Doncic during Liga Endesa Finals match (1st game) between Real Madrid and Kirolbet Baskonia at Wizink Center in Madrid, Spain. June 13, 2018. (Photo by COOLMedia/Peter Sabok/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Real Madrid Luka Doncic during Liga Endesa Finals match (1st game) between Real Madrid and Kirolbet Baskonia at Wizink Center in Madrid, Spain. June 13, 2018. (Photo by COOLMedia/Peter Sabok/NurPhoto via Getty Images) /
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CHICAGO, IL – MAY 15: De’Aaron Fox #5 of the Sacramento Kings represents the Sacramento Kings during the NBA Draft Lottery on May 15, 2018 at The Palmer House Hilton in Chicago, Illinois. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images)
CHICAGO, IL – MAY 15: De’Aaron Fox #5 of the Sacramento Kings represents the Sacramento Kings during the NBA Draft Lottery on May 15, 2018 at The Palmer House Hilton in Chicago, Illinois. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Sacramento Kings (No. 2 overall)

With the Phoenix Suns seemingly set on taking Arizona’s DeAndre Ayton at the top of the draft, the first team that has a chance of selecting Doncic on Thursday night will be the Sacramento Kings. Vlade Divac’s Yugoslavian roots, as well as the success Bogdanovic, had with the Kings in year one of his NBA career, it would seem like a shoe-in for Doncic to end up in California’s capital. However, all word leaking out of the Kings organization is that the team is sour on Doncic heading into the draft. This might be a blessing in disguise for the Slovenian.

The Kings have become the laughing stock of the NBA, even the early “Trust the Process” days in Philadelphia weren’t as bad as what’s been going on in Sacramento in the post-Chris Webber era. Being talented simply isn’t enough to excel for Sacramento (see: Cousins, DeMarcus) and as the Kings roster is currently constructed there could be a logjam and too many cooks in the kitchen from an on-ball perspective.

As the introduction slide states, Doncic should be one of the first names taken in the 2018 NBA Draft. Falling out of the top five is blasphemy and that’s the reason Sacramento (owners of the second overall pick) appears on this list. Doncic played mostly on the ball in his final season in Madrid and has mentioned in interviews that he hopes to continue to operate as the main ball handler on whichever team drafts him. With the Kings taking De’Aaron Fox in the lottery last year, the idea of Doncic being handed the reigns to the offense will be far-fetched as long as Fox remains on that team.

If given control of the Kings on Thursday night, a slip of paper with Doncic’s name written on it would be handed to Adam Silver both he walked off the stage after announcing the Suns selected Ayton at one. Doncic is a better player than anyone currently with Sacramento and he’s easier to find complementary pieces to surround him with. However, it seems as if that won’t be the case. Missing out on a high-talent prospect in the lottery is business as usual in Sacramento.

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