The Sacramento Kings are a disaster. They finished off yet another dismal season by placing fourth in the Pacific Division with a 28-54 record. The shoddy performances weren’t restricted to the court for the Kings as the pending sale and potential move of the franchise was handled about as poorly as one could have imagined.

This season marks the seventh straight trip to the NBA lottery for the Kings. In those seven trips lets take a look at what assets they got; Thomas Robinson in 2012 (traded), Jimmer Fredette in 2011 (relegated to spot bench duties), DeMarcus Cousins in 2010 (combustible and wanting to be traded) and Tyreke Evans in 2009 (restricted free-agent). That sums up the last four years of lottery results.

A quick look at the Kings draft misfortunes shows that in 2009 they could have drafted Stephen Curry or Jrue Holiday. In 2010 the Kings left both Greg Monroe and Paul George on the board. 2011 was not much better as the Kings bought into Jimmermania and passed on Nikola Vucevic and Kawhi Leonard. After learning nothing from those three draft day disasters, the Kings seemed to make a smart choice in 2012 by going with Robinson. Well they gave up on the rookie after only four months and shipped him to Houston. This go round they passed on Damian Lillard, Harrison Barnes and Andre Drummond.

For a team that is desperate to rebuild and become relevant again they sure do a crappy job at evaluating talent come draft day. This year they had better do their homework and select a decent player because they have roster holes at every position.

Areas of Weakness:

Simply put, the Kings need help everywhere. Scoring, rebounding, team defense, team attitude and general professionalism are all areas of concern. Cousins is the only franchise-like player on the team and he led the league in technical fouls and was a volatile player to say the least. If we are to assume that the backcourt pairing of Evans and Isaiah Thomas will be reunited then the front-court is where the most help is needed. The Kings need a true center who can run the floor or a versatile wing-man who can score and defend.

Draft Projections:

Short of Alex Len or Otto Porter dropping into Sacramento’s lap, the Kings will need to look at Cody Zeller from Indiana as the serviceable big man who could play in the middle for them. Zeller was considered a top NBA draft pick as the season got underway; however, he failed to live up to much of the hype and others surpassed him by their contributions on the court. Zeller is nonetheless a legit 7’0” who possesses a fantastic leaping ability and a deft touch on his jumpshot. Zeller runs the floor well and an athletic high-motored individual. The addition of Zeller here is a fairly safe pick as he has no obvious character issues, doesn’t seem to run with an NBA ready posse and he might just be a good influence in the locker room for the dysfunctional Kings.

With the draft stock rise of Alex Len and that of Victor Oladipo the Kings could find themselves with a gem waiting for them at the seven spot. Speculation is that Phoenix will grab Oladipo and New Orleans could go with Trey Burke which could mean that UNLV’s Anthony Bennett might still be available for the Kings. Obviously this should be a no-brainer for the Kings. Bennett is a talented NBA-ready prospect. He measures a solid 6’7” with a 6’9” wingspan. He has amazing hops and is known for throwing down vicious dunks. Downside to Bennett is that he is injured right now and thusly has the reputation for being injury-prone. These injuries might just cause his draft day stock to fall just enough to make him available at the seven spot. if Bennett’s name is still on the board, Sacramento needs to abandon whatever draft day strategy they had and grab this guy.