Amid the NBA playoffs the NBA Lottery draft for the non-playoff bound teams took place and with it the NBA draft order has now been determined. For the lottery teams this year's draft marks hope and optimism as he talent pool here is deemed to be considerably better than it has been in the past few years; mind you it seems like the draft pundits say this same thing every single season.
Nonetheless, the teams who are holding lottery bound picks must be looking at ways to complement their rosters, be it by using the upcoming selection or via a trade on draft day. Not every team with lottery selections are able to address their needs via the draft as there is only so much talent available at each position and since these rookie deals are guaranteed, the new incoming salary amounts must be accounted for within the team's salary cap.
As the NBA Draft approaches eDraft.com will look at each of the lottery teams and identify their needs heading into the draft as well as who might be available to fill hose teams needs. Our draft coverage won't stop there though as post-draft we will have analysis of the picks as well as report cards for each of the teams as to how they fared.
Next up in the draft order is the sixth spot and this is where we find the Sacramento Kings who were holders of a 29-53 record on the season. Perhaps the the two most impactful changes surrounding the Sacramento franchise occurred not through player acquisition but rather in their personnel departments. New Head Coach George Karl was brought on board to install some stability on the sidelines while behind the scenes it is becoming increasingly evident that former King in Vlade Divac is making a lot of the basketball related decisions in conjunction with coach Karl.
Key Pieces to Build Around:
The Kings have one of the league's premier centers in DeMarcus Cousins yet the trade rumours continue to swirl around the talented big man. With coach Karl in town it could be a fiery sideline as both player and coach are quick on the fuse. If the Kings were to accept a trade offer for Cousins it most certainly would bring some very good young talent back to them, but for now anyways it is clear that Cousins is the man in Sac-town.
Once we move past Cousins there really isn’t any one player that is even close to being a franchise cornerstone type player. With that in mind there is no one who is untouchable on this team and no one player has their spot on the club assured. Granted, Rudy Gay is under contract for a few more years at a fairly hefty price tag so there aren’t a lot of team willing to take on that cap hit of approximately $13 million for a guy who puts up inflated numbers on a bad Kings squad.
State of the Union - Orlando Magic
With so many roster needs and not a ton of available cap space to go shopping with, the Kings must spend and draft wisely. Part of that spending wisely must include looking at available free agents who are coming off down years and who will want to sign on for a couple years at below market rates to become free agents again once the higher salary cap kicks in. One such free agent that might be lured to Sacramento due to his close personal relationship with Rudy Gay is none other than the disgruntled Rajon Rondo. Rondo could be persuaded to take a deal here as he needs to spit-shine his game and his image before trying again at that max-deal that he covets so much.
Draft Needs:
The Kings have needs everywhere and they will have no shortage of draft workouts in order to try and address some of those needs. Point guard is a very big need for the Kings here and they should look to address this spot before anything else. There are two top-tier point guards coming into this draft in Emmanuel Mudiay and D’Angelo Russell and it stands to reason that neither will be available here for the Kings to nab. At this juncture the Kings could be persuaded by a big-bodied prospect but they would be better served to stick to their point guard plans.
The Kings could very well look to either drop a few slots here or go ahead and grab their true desire in Cameron Payne from Murray State. Payne is a fast-riser in this draft as his point guard skills are exactly what most teams look for. He lacks great finishing ability and size; however, he has great length, a nose for the ball and he can play solid defense which teams love. Look for Sacramento to keep things under wraps but for them to spring this pick out of the bag and nap their new point guard.