The Sacramento Kings walked away from the 2020 NBA Draft as big winners. The Kings added Iowa State’s Tyrese Haliburton, Mississippi State’s Robert Woodard, and Texas Tech’s Jahmi’us Ramsey.
Haliburton is a 6’5″, 175 lb combo guard who shot over 40% from three each of his two seasons at Iowa State. In 22 games last season he also averaged 15.2 points, 6.5 assists, 5.9 rebounds, and 2.5 steals per game. Haliburton is a versatile guard who can score, pass, and defend, and should be an excellent complement to De’Aaron Fox in the Kings backcourt.
Robert Woodard is a 6’7″ wing who averaged 11.4 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.1 steals, and 1.0 blocks for Mississippi state last season. He also shot over 40% from three. Woodard projects as a three-and-D type player in the NBA. Stop me if you’re picking up on a trend, but he’s another versatile player who does a little bit of everything on both sides of the ball.
Jahmi’us Ramsey is a 6’4″ wing/guard who is a shooting specialist. He (again, stop me if you’re picking up on a theme) shot over 42% from 3 last season on over 5 attempts per game.
Woodard was taken with the 40th pick after the Kings traded down from the 35th pick, acquiring an unspecified future second-rounder in the process.
Grizzlies sending No. 40 and a future second to Sacramento for 35.
— Chris Herrington (@ChrisHerrington) November 19, 2020
The Kings also owned the 52nd pick in the draft, but that pick was reported as being made by the Houston Rockets. No word yet on what the Kings got in return, but the best bet is a future second round pick.
Overall the Kings had a very successful night in the draft, adding three players who provide three point shooting and versatility. Kings fans know that even the best on-paper draft picks can fail, so we will wait to see these picks prove themselves, but Kings fans should feel confident that this was a good night for Monte McNair and his staff.
Huh, hope for the future.
Neat.
hhhhhhhhhhhhh
aliburton!
Just watched the post-draft interview of Haliburton. He’s a great kid. Rattled off the starters on the 2002 Kings on the spot. Meanwhile, Ball didn’t name one CURRENT player on the Hornets in his interview. Ball will be a bust.
From the Halliburton thread (because it got buried):
I’m going to have a good night. 2 or 3 beers, corned beef and cabbage, seeing a lot of excitement about Halliburton, it’s nice to not feel depressed (even for a moment) about the direction of the franchise. Halliburton seems to check off a lot of boxes, makes a lot of sense on a lot of fronts, and certainly would make for an interesting backcourt with Fox, Hield and potentially DiVincenzo if that S&T ends up back on the table somehow by a miracle and Monte McNair doesn’t become the newest conductor of Kangz central.
But for tonight? Hell to the fuck yeah. I don’t do draft research anymore, I gave up on it since I’m not making the picks it makes no difference to me who the pick is and I save time gritting my teeth on whether I like or dislike it. But Halliburton seems to be a good get in terms of skillset, immediate playability which I do think is important, a projectable future (creating a better shot down the line, better team defensive awareness on and off the ball seem to be the biggest weaknesses) and perhaps he will fill out. You know, because he’s clearly an old man at the ripe old age of 19. We were all fully cogent formed humans at 19. He’d better be too! Or I’ll sic somebody’s little dog on ol’ Tyrese! (The basketball player, not the actor.)
A good day seemingly, hopefully the Kings hit on one of the 2nd rounders and get a rotation player. That would be¦.something.
I venture to say that even if I didn’t have a low bar for McNair (he literally couldn’t screw this up IMO), he still would have done well regardless because of the value you get with Haillburton. A young, cheap top 6 player in the rotation is something the Kings have not gotten in awhile and it would be nice to have one again. With Halliburton, DiVincenzo and Hield, you have different looks and skillsets. Along with the Swipa’d one, of course.
Now if only my corned beef would hurry up and cook, the bastard. How dare it take time and require patience of me to cook? (It’s cooked now. I’m eating it. it’s delicious.)
A couple other points (since added): Woodard seems like the player so many have been screaming the Kings need to develop. Here’s that opportunity. Assuming the Kings also end up acquiring Donte DiVincenzo, it seems like the ability to defend was an important emphasis.
If I’m using history of Kings drafts as a comp, this feels like the ’94 draft in a few of ways. If that’s the case, I think Kings fans will be happy for years to come.
Good call.
That 1994 draft was a shot in the arm for this franchise. Maybe this one is as well!
I love that you were all “This is simply too good to be overlooked. Let me paste it into the most recent thread. You’re welcome, reader!”
Yes, absolutely. I am nothing if not in love with the sound of my own voice.
Cheers to you and your beers and corned beef Kingsguru! It was beers and taco Wednesday here, because we had pizza yesterday.
Fakers 2021 2nd rounder and 1 mil cash for KJ
35 for 40 and 2022 2nd rounder lesser of Det/Chi
Now that’s over can we draft a better coach?
That’s the only thing I’m not happy about tonight in Kingsland.
Speaking of a theme, don’t forget Donte. If the trade does end going through, he’s another guy of the same mold except for the shooting.
And with Holmes on the roster, it Sounds to me like a scrappy, easy to root for team. Even if they don’t win a lot of games.
Donte was 5 made 3’s away from being league average. 10 away from from shooting the percentage as Bogi. Now, 5 or 10 less is also something to consider, but it’s not like he is terrible in that realm.
Why not go for 20 more?
The guy is what he is. Sub-32% for his career. While that may not be terrible, it must improve for him to be on the floor for significant minutes with Fox (if Donte is even an option at this point).
And as we’ve seen with De’Aaron, improvement in that area isn’t always linear (and he doesn’t have the same type of talent to work off here as he did in Milwaukee).
Sorry if I sound cranky, but we do the Charlie Brown/football thing a lot when it comes to this particular statistic.
Yeah, I was not implying that he will be this great shooter or that he will be awful, just that he is okay and a few shots here and there in a given season will have an impact on his percentage and how he is viewed.
Very pleased with these results tonight, now to see what happens with Bogi, Bjelica and Cojo
I’m thinking that given Bjelica is on a reasonable deal, and no one over 6’7″ was selected by the Kings, it may be best to pick up the option, and see who inquires as the season progresses.
I don’t expect much spending for free agents, so you may need to keep Len around so we have someone who can get rebounds other than a hopefully-healthy Bagley.
Wow. What a night. I think Tyrese is going to be a solid player for a long time. I’m not sure I see the same upside as some people do but considering how many people feel that way I’m probably missing something.
I’m very very excited about Woodard. I didn’t know much about him but 20 minutes of research and I’m thrilled. Exactly the kind of player I want to root for.
Ramsey seems like a bit of an unconscious chucker but also seems wildly talented especially at that point in the draft. I’m a happy fan tonight.
I never had breaking point laughter tonight. Odd feeling on draft night honestly, almost missed it for a second. Almost.
Sidenote, I gave STR a click tonight (hate doing that). There’s like 5 articles from tonight with 1-2 comments each. I’m so grateful that so many pieces of this awesome community made the jump here.
Cheers y’all, go kings!
Apparently someone didn’t hear about the creation of TKH & was wondering why StR had so few comments, so I hope they see my comment letting them know about TKH (which is the only reason for me to comment on StR these days).
Yeah it’s (obviously) been awhile since I checked out the site over there and didn’t even realize all this had happened. I was super excited the way the draft was going and was like wtf when I saw the amount of comments. Glad it worked out and you directed me in the right direction.
Welcome to the Kings Herald! Hope you enjoy your stay.
Good work, richie!
Down with STR!!
Long live TKH!!!
Do we still have roster spots for the Bogi trade to work?
Sure. Worst case scenario, someone gets waived. Also, second rounders have some flexibility when it comes to their contracts (though I’d expect at least Woodard to be guaranteed).
The Kings added much needed explosive athletes that have basketball skills. All of the picks can shoot the 3, play defense, and seem to have some good BBIQ. This is the first draft in a while that I actually feel excited as a Kings fan.
In a seemingly weak draft, the Kings were able to add 3 players who all look like they could contribute in some capacity on the surface (even Ramsey in the Yogi role). I’m trying to not be too excited but this is a good feeling. Odd feeling. Now time to look forward to free agency.
Question for the group-what does Woodard’s drafting mean for Jefferies? I hope that both get playing time this year and develop.
More than anything I am just happy by the logic that went into these picks as mentioned above. These look like ethos picks, for a new analytically inclined front office. The Kings being at least comparable with contemporary standards is refreshing. These picks align with the league as currently constructed. And the 2nd round maneuvering was exceptional both in the finds but also in extracting assets. Monte personally is impressing.
For what it’s worth, here’s the model rankings for all 5 of my models for our players versus where we drafted them.
Haliburton (pick 12): 2, 2, 3, 4, 4
Woodward (pick 40): 59, 47, 42, 53, 44
Ramsey (pick 45): 26, 10, 29, 38, 39
And here’s their rank in Pelton’s ESPN models (Insider):
Haliburton (pick 12): 2, 2
Woodward (pick 40): 35, 32
Ramsey (pick 45): 11, 18
His two models are “stats only” (the player’s stats only) and Humble (incorporates mock draft order to see if scouts see something the stats don’t).
This is in stock contrast to Vlade who often took players who were ranked far lower in the models, probably because he was not very analytically inclined.
Great info. In relation to Pelton’s model, it has been pretty very strong on precedent, at least compared to mock consensus. Many a team would have been better off simply following it, over their big boards. Very interested in the nuances of your model as well.
But beyond the indicators that the Kings might have struck on major upside plays, because of these players specific traits i’m engaged by the fact that there are successful outcomes in both tertiary, secondary and primary outcomes to all three.
They aren’t creating contradictions or demanding a unique specificity no matter where they end up in output. They coincide with league demands no matter how significant an NBA role they will have. Yet upside isn’t compromised for that. Beyond a need for this franchise to be analytically motivated, the spectrum of success is a crucial sea change.
I pounded this to death on STR but cant agree more in relation to Vlade. We lacked coherence even in our successes. It was always apparent that because of our innate disadvantages, that was never going to be sustainable. How much these picks overlap the analytic evaluations is highly comforting. Obviously McNair’s history would suggests as much, but its an affirmation this team has to be analytically exceptional to be seriously competitive in time. However these players end up as said they are informed in the vein they should be. A welcomed change
Alternative Universe Sacramento Kings 2020 Draft Night
Wherein Kings GM Vlade Divac, who received a 3-year contract extension, does the following:
The whiff of plausibility here is an overwhelming stench.
I mistakenly (?) wrote:
“…trades the pick for $500,000 in cash considerations TO the L*kers” where maybe it should have read ” $500,000 in cash considerations FROM the L*kers”
but I can imagine Vlade trades the pick to the L*kers and also gives them $500,000.
So that would be:
Kings get:
L*kers get: #35 pick and $500,000
I think the most possible outcome if Vlade was still in charge is passing on Haliburton because he didn’t interview or workout for us and instead went with Tyrese Maxey with the 12th pick since he interviewed with the Kings.
And Calipari convinced Vivek that Maxey would be perfect next to Buddy!
Sure they all sound good, but did they tell Monte before the draft that they want to be in Sacramento???
MonteVlade Python’s Holy GrailAmazing draft. Can I just say what a relief and different feeling it was to have a sense of calm during the draft.
Ramsey and Woodard weren’t high on my radar, but both were projected higher than we picked them. Both did better in my models, Kevin Pelton’s models, and other models I have found than where we picked them (not surprising given the analytics focus of the FO).
And in general, there is a sense of trust and a real, rigorous methodology to the current FO that leads to a sense of trust even if I or other fans may have had our own favorite players at some second round spots.
But overall, amazing to have a draft where we didn’t get cute and pass on the obvious talent, didn’t make any bad trades, didn’t draft players ranked well below where we drafted them by scouts or analytics models, and overall fans gained confidence in the team instead of collectively sighing and hoping for the best.
On one of the other threads I think I described my feelings similarly last night. The draft was fairly uneventful for the Kings but in a good way. All the picks made sense and it felt like there was a process and intention behind them.
Have not seen ESPN put the word winners next to a Kings draft in a long time. This feels weird.
I said this on the draft thread but I do think that the perceived collective praise the Kings are getting is a great way for McNair to establish his tenure. Obviously that doesn’t overrule the actual success of the picks, but the zeitgeist perception of us being a horridly run franchise doesn’t help in more serious matters. It does inform perceptions at least, be it players teams or fans which in turn might limit options. The Kings building public cache can only help in other facets. Not something that should be a priority but a bonus nonetheless.
Haliburton!!!!!!
I’m so stoked this morning. As many of you know I’ve been big on this kid for a while. I was even hoping to trade up for him. He was literally #2 on my big board. The fact that he amazingly landed in our laps at #12 is unreal. Before anyone says something about the falling knife like McLemore and Robinson, this kid is not like them. He is a solid sophomore who has a much better all around game that checks all the boxes for the modern NBA. Sooooooooo stoked!
Hali is definitely one of the players that I thought could make sense to trade up in order to get. I thought we’d need to swap with Atlanta to get high up enough to have a shot, given that I couldn’t imagine a scenario where he fell past eight.
When both Vassell and Haliburton were still available after the Suns grabbed Jalen Smith at ten, I knew we’d have a shot at one or both. I was still worried that Nesmith might be the pick, given that people here seemed really up on him. Doubting our man Monte was stupid of me.
Short of pulling off some huge trade last night, I’m really not sure how we could have come out of it much better off than we did. Having a stellar draft, and not having to wait six months to see what we’ve got is really the icing on the cake.
McNotorious McN.A.I.R.: “I’m going-going with-with Hali-Hali”
I thought Nesmith was a better prospect than Vassell, but I thought Haliburton was a much better prospect than Nesmith or Vassell. He was easily BPA at #12 IMO.
Also, no connections to Kansas, so thats a win for us!
“Slamson, we’re not drafting Kansas anymore!”
Truthfully, I was absolutely elated to see that pretty much all of the “elite” college programs were nowhere to be seen in the top lottery, and not all that much beyond that. They’re long overdue for a humbling.
I hope it gives prospects an opportunity to consider other programs, as Mikey Williams and Makur Maker have done with HBCUs. I see absolutely no downside to so-called lower tier programs scooping up blue chip prospects, and the avalanche of cash that comes with them. Let Duke, North Carolina, Kansas and Kentucky fight for the hind teat for a change.
The difference between T-Rob and McLemore, on one hand, and Haliburton on the other, is that apparently Haliburton actually knows how to play basketball.
Haliburton is sort of my ideal shooting guard prospect. He does more than check all the boxes. He checks them twice. I was saying the Warriors should draft him and never thought he’d fall to 12.
A lot of check boxes, if you check them a second time, they get unchecked. Let’s say he checked them three times, just to be safe.
I’m a pre-internet dinosaur. Pen and paper. The second check is to the side of the invisible box.
Okay, but hide the Wite-Out.
some prospects are still out there by the way. Lamine Diane is worth a call. Several others are intriguing. Mavs picked up Hinton already, Pels picked up Marshall.
Trev Queen
Tres Tinkle (with med report)
Can put together a fun Stockton team.
I’ll be really interested to see how the rest of the offseason plays out. If Buddy isn’t moved, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Ramsey on a 2-way. He’ll put up big scoring numbers in the G-League.
How about Kaleb Wesson?
The Kings have a real front office that makes decisions consistent with the information available and the way the game is now played. I’m a little disoriented, it is going to take me awhile to get used to it.
Great draft. Good job by Monte. Maybe the Bogi Sign and Trade is merely a tampering issue until FA opens up on Friday. If not, and there is real crawfishing going on by agents, or others, I feel confident Monte can address the issue well. He sort of is back in the cat birds seat having seen now what the cost of doing business capital in other announced trades has been.
He picked up a second round pick last night that may prove to be very valuable in that it is the lower of the Pistons or Bulls pick, I think in 2021, from the Grizzlies.
in Houston the radio sports call in talk (have to discount this just because) is that the Rockets may completely start over. I think that is crazy, but not relevant to my point other than if they do begin a rebuild, the 2nd round pick Monte picked up in the Martin trade may also be very valuable come 2022.
Nicely done.
I think you have those years backwards, but yes that lower of Det/Chi in 2022 should turn out to be a #31-34 pick, great job by the FO
Only major difference I would of liked is to of used our last pick on Paul Reed and kept him.
Other than that I think they hit it out of the park.
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