The Sacramento Kings won more games than they should have down the stretch of the season, which didn’t allow them to secure the worst record in the league. This then removed the protection of ensuring a top-5 pick in what many think is one of the best drafts the NBA has ever seen, which resulted in them getting the 7th pick in the NBA Lottery Sunday.
Now that we got that out of the way, let’s see who the latest national mock drafts have the Kings selecting with that pick.
Bleacher Report: Kingston Flemings
Though the Kings are going to miss out on the core four players at the top of stacked draft, it could be worse – they could have got the 8th or 9th pick. And they still have a chance at getting a solid point guard in the spot they are in. Acuff and Flemings are largely considered the top two options at the position, along with Keaton Wagler (slightly more of a combo guard). The Kings also technically do not have a point guard right now. So, there is that.
Acuff can score at all three levels. He can hit threes (44%), has a nice pull-up midrange shot, and a floater game. On offense, he plays under control within his own pace and doesn’t get sped up. He can get where he wants and get his shot off through isolation self-creation. He is a high-volume, efficient scorer.
All of that led to 23.5 points per game with Arkansas.
He can get his teammates involved as well – his lob passes are very fun to watch. He averaged 6.4 assists last season. Pair that with just 2.2 turnovers per game in 35 minutes per game and he projects to be able to lead an offense.
On defense, he has issues that can’t be ignored. His instincts and awareness on that side of the ball aren’t anywhere close to what they are on offense. Navigating screens are an issue and many have questioned his effort. Some reports have indicated the team that drafts him will need to put the right defensive infrastructure in place to support him.
When you think defensive infrastructure, you think Kings, so we’re good there.
Acuff’s ability to score from all over the court and his tough mentality on offense do make it seem as though he has true star potential, despite his defensive flaws.
Flemings might not have the offensive game that Acuff has but he brings more on the defensive side of the ball. So, let’s start there: Flemings can get into passing lanes and deflect shots, has good off-ball instincts and speed and a strong motor that adds up to solid point-of-attack tools. He averaged 1.5 steals per game. At 6’4’’ he has the potential to be able to defend both guard spots. Though he might need to add some strength to handle the physicality of the NBA game, but that is what pretty much every rookie has to adjust to.
On offense, his speed and footwork allow him to break down defenders pretty easily. The first-step is fast and he is slippery with the ability to slip through defenses. He can maintain the handle at high speeds and gets his shot up at the rim. His pull-up game must be respected and while he didn’t attempt a lot threes, he shot them well when he did (38%). He averaged 16.1 points last season with Houston.
While he can get to the rim a lot, he does sometimes have trouble finishing. He also only averaged 3.5 free throw attempts per game, meaning foul drawing on all of those speedy drives isn’t translating. And his slim frame could be playing a factor with him avoiding contact.
His passing is a highlight of his game. He can hit overhead outlets, live-dribble bounce passes, push passes and find cutters and rollers easily. He averaged 5.2 assists per game
Flemings does not have the high-volume scoring output that Acuff has on offense, but Acuff doesn’t have the defensive prowess Flemings has.
Either of these guys will fill a need on this Kings roster and be fun to watch, but the bottom line remains: In one of the best drafts in years the Kings are going to miss out AJ Dybansta, Cameron Boozer, Darryn Peterson and Caleb Wilson. It was a nice thought while it lasted though.
So many careers to destroy, so little time.
I usually feel bad for guys that get drafted by the Kings. It’s just sad for them to come to a crazed fan base that is ran by such incompetent people.
“We love Kingston Flemings! It was destiny that we draft him, look at his first name! KINGSton! KINGSTON ROCKS!”
Welcome to Basketball Hell
so how does draft and remaining eligibility work? if, say, flemings gets drafted by the kings, could he ultimately elect to return to school for another year and get his $1.5-$2M in NIL money? That seems like a no-brainer…make bank, be worshipped on campus for another year and then be in the NBA and not on the Kings.
I believe there is a withdrawal deadline prior to the draft. Should they still be in the draft come June 23rd, they have waived their amateur status and cannot return to the NCAA…or at least that’s how I remember the rules but they may have changed with the NIL stuff.
I suppose a player that really does not want to join a team could play overseas, but I beleive their draft rights stick with the team that drafted them\, see all the Euro stash players.
I think the rule is they can’t play professionally for one year if drafted and fail to report, but they then could re-enter the draft. I don’t recall that ever happening. In the past the player just demands a trade.
Epic take..I was going to say that the Sacramento Kings have fulfilled their service and it’s now time for them to move to a different place. – NBA
It’s so much fun being a Kings fan.
H/T Marty
Edit:Sigh dang pic attachment not working
What i don’t understand about Acuff is I’ve read so many breakdowns that he is a wiz on offense. He can read defenses and break them down brilliantly, but at the same time seems lost on defense and struggles navigating screens. That doesn’t compute to me. Both can’t be correct, right? That only leaves me to think that it’s an effort thing, which gives me LaVine vibes. Gifted at scoring from anywhere but is a traffic cone on defense.
This is why Vivek will want him.
Lastly, as I said yesterday, it wouldn’t surprise me if Peterson falls. This whole story about him missing games and leaving the court was do to severe cramping because of high intake of creatine seems like a smokescreen. I mean, isn’t creatine supposed to make you retain water? Can anyone with creatine experience vouch for this?
as a health care person, the reputable literature does not “list” cramping as a side effect of creatine. But he may have taken huge doses or the term “creatine” is a euphemism for another supplement. Many of these supplements are not how they are sold or labelled. As compounded drugs, they could be most anything.
As an Acuff fan, I can tell you I did not get LaVine vibes from him, but I do think he was saving his energy for the offensive end because he was a huge part of that offense. He’s also probably a bit shorter than listed if I had to guess.
I also think his offense is good enough to warrant the risk of drafting him even if he is a traffic cone. I would have taken him at 5, at 7 it becomes more of a “why not” proposition. No prospect is going to be perfect, and I’d rather take the one that I think could have a shot at being one of the best scorers in the NBA.
OMG, Vivek has hacked Aykis’ account!!!
Just measured 6’2” barefoot
From what I have read, Peterson cramped up during Bill Self’s preseason boot camp. So bad, that he was hospitalized??? Full body cramps. Imagine what the NBA season will be like for him with all the travel, longer schedule, longer games, less rest in-between games, and a more physical play style against bigger bodies. The red flags can’t be ignored.
As for Acuff, some have a theory that his workload on offense made him “rest” more on defense since Arkansas relied so heavily on him running the show. The breakdowns I have seen show much more than effort issues. Technique, unawareness, poor recognition on screens, ball watching…should fit right in on the Kings.
Flemings might not have the offensive prowess of Acuff, but he sure as hell plays defense, even with the slighter build/less strength. He has his issues as well, but I just see him as being a more well-rounded player.
Acuff’s poor defense worries me, but I’m more worried about Flemings’ poor stats against Big 12 teams.
I disagree with all of the assessments that it’s an effort issue. Every game I’ve watched of him, he at least tries running back to his man. The problem is he gets bodied and often loses his man. He’ll get hit with a screen and go left when he should have gone right – that kind of thing. Then when he finally reaches his man who is attempting a shot, he doesn’t have the length to contest that shot. So, a lot of it has to do with his choices on defense – Defensive IQ. I feel like having appropriate mentors to tell him what spots to be in will help get his defense to at least an average level.
Acuff reminds me of Monta Ellis. Same height, same build. Similar scoring profile and negatives on D. And I don’t make that comparison as a knock. You can even squint and see some AI. The Answer’s game probably doesn’t translate well to today’s NBA, but that’s still a player you’d want.
If I had to compare a modern NBA player to Iverson, I think it might be Trae Young. The game is just so different now.
Iverson was athletic.. Trae isn’t
Unless Peterson’s health concerns are a lot more serious than have been reported, I doubt that he’ll fall all the way to #7.
Agree with this. I’ve watched Acuff and I think it’s more of an effort issue on defense and what he was asked to do at Arkansas. I believe he can be an adequate defender given his physical attributes. Another interesting point made is what will happen with Peterson. I believe he could drop and I would not want to be a 2 or 3 making a decision on him. The epitome of Bust or Boom.
First- season grades:
Season F- should have found a way to lose one more game- Beat Nets, to Pacers, duds, LAC, Toronto. How stupid- those wins have no value not for the team, for Christie for the fans. Absolute F
Coin flip with Utah D minus- never should have come down to a 50/50 flip. Since “chance” lost the flip, Kings get a D minus
Lottery- all chance and Kings got the expected #7. Two teams jumped from below. At least the duds did not jump but the Jazz did. Grade C minus
the draft- the top 4 will go in some order – AJ, Peterson, Boozer and Wilson. The next 4 are PG’s- Acuff, Wagler and Flemings and Brown. Kings will get a choice from of these.
I suspect Wagler to LAC (they have the short Garland) and Acuff to Nets.
Flemings to Kings. That’s not bad but not great. And in the long run, I could make an argument for Flemings as the best of the 3 anyway.
I think Brown is a stretch.
Yep. Brown has streaky written all over him. Too big of a risk for a player that had a nice streak in just a handful of games.
I believe Brayden Burries will be a strong consideration, if not the pick. Smart PG both Offensively and defensively, a 3 and D dude. Reminds me of a Jamal Murray…
I see Burries as the player we all want Nique to be. Except Burries is probably better than Nique already, and a few years younger.
I watched a ton of College Basketball this year because I couldn’t tolerate watching the Kings and I needed a basketball fix. Burries is the real deal. I take him over Flemmings or Acuff. He looks so much bigger than either of those guys even though he’s just listed at 6’4″. People questioning his playmaking are probably underestimating that part of his game. When he was asked to initiate the offense, he did a very nice job. Arizona just had Bradley so they didn’t need him to do that very often. He’s a plus defender who had 50/40/80 shooting splits. Acuff was streaky, but got hot at the right time of the year so fans are high on him. His defense does suck. Flemmings never stood out to me. Wagler is a little more raw but he has a lot of the tools.
Burries would be nice. I think he ends up going at 5 to the Clippers. Pair him and Garland in the backcourt.
Not sold on Flemings yet. Would prioritize a deep dive on Acuff and Mikel Brown before Flemings.
I wonder if any of them come in for a workout ins Sac.
Would any agent want their player to be drafted by Sac? Basketball Siberia with an elevator that only goes down, with one destination…Basketball Hell.
My reasoning is to take the guy who can score because the NBA continues to punish anybody’s attempt to play defense. The net benefit on the court would be higher with Acuff’s scoring than with Flemings’ defense.
But the 4 teams with the best adjusted team defense were the Thunder, Pistons, Spurs, and Celtics while the teams with worst adjusted team defenses were the Wizards, Jazz, Kings and Bucks.
Defense still wins championships and it’s pretty apparent the defense is allowed in the playoffs. I feel the goal isn’t to just get to the playoffs, but to win in the playoffs.
I’ll add, if we are just comparing Acuff and Flemings I feel the offensive gap between the two isn’t as far as the defensive gap.
Acuff is the best offensive PG in the draft, but the worst defensive player slated to go in the first round. Flemings is the best defensive guard in the draft but NOT the worst offensive player by a country mile.
I agree, it’s basically like asking yourself, would you rather have Fox (Kingston) or CJ McCollum (Acuff) in today’s NBA. And I’d say the clear answer is Fox.
PG’s that are terrible on D, tend not to improve to even average; whereas a player can obviously improve immensely on O.
I can’t recall who said it, and it might have even been you, that Flemings is more Jrue Holiday. That would mean not a super star or elite offensive performer, but still a damn good player on both ends who leads to winning.
Flemings’ offensive stats against Big 12 teams were terrible. I’d say that there’s a significant gap in favor of Flemings on defense, but that there’s a significant gap in favor of Acuff on offense.
You have a point. When I saw the picture to lead off the article I looked up that game where the two faced off against each other. FWIW, Flemings had one of hiss better offensive performances of the year agains Acuff at 21,6,5, and 3 steals. To his credit, Acuff also had an impressive game at 27,5,7 with a steal and a block. Not that it matters, but Houston won the game
Flemings has been and still is my #5 guy, but I have zero issue with anyone that prefers Acuff (or Wagler). I like all of those guys more than Brown, as back issues at such a young age is a bit of a red flag for me.
Yep, any of those three PGs is good with me. It’s actually really nice that we are within the top 7 picks.
You have this:
and then you have this:
“define purpose” the only thing he is pressing on doing is writing trite BS
What if the obstacle is your employer?
If your goal is a a short-term severance package, you’re in the right place, Scott. Beyond that…
Edited for accuracy.
The little guy once again playing to the disgruntled audience.
SP is a sweet talking douche. That act is played out and tired. Much prefer KP’s straightforward approach coupled with actual accountablity.
That’s a leadership masterclass.
Vivek is going to pick the guard with the flashy offensive numbers. He’s always done this, and he will keep doing it.
“Shoots like Steph…big like Klay”
Pretty much this. Flawed shooters like McLemore, Nick Rocks, Buddy, LaVine… The dude has blinders on for the next Curry. A leopard doesn’t change his spots, but he’s keep changing his GMs and coaches.
I think he also takes into consideration who his daughter may want to date.
That’s our owner, always in love with the shiny things.
My random thoughts on the lottery developments:
The Wiz and Jazz tanked and were rewarded for it in the last year where tanking will actually work. Smart of them to do so. The Kings’ FO did the opposite and got what they deserved.
Dybansta is going first and wait for it…Caleb Wilson second. Yes, his athleticism is going to push him to the 2nd pick. He’s my favorite player in this draft.
The Kings will end up with whomever of Wagner, Acuff and Kingston is left when they pick. Still a long way to the draft, but the top 7 players seem pretty set. The Kings are pretty lucky to meet a top 7 pick cutoff as I think there’s a slight drop off after that.
Having said all that, my apathy with the Kings is to the point where I forgot about the lottery and don’t really care about next season. This franchise under Vivek will never become anything better than mediocre. Simple as that.
My initial draft board has AJ, Booz, Wilson, Flem, Petersen, Acuff, Wagler, Brown, Burries, Yaxel.
As of today, Flem is BPA at 7 if draft sims say that he will be available at 7.
Anyone have a feel for what it would take to move up in to the top 4?
Keegan and/or a future first, which also includes handing over the #7.
When Dallas traded #5 Trae Young for #3 Luka on draft night in 2018 they had to include heir 2019 unprotected pick.
A future first. Keegan is a neutral asset at best with what they paid on his extension. I don’t think he even moves you up to 6.
I agree, I don’t see Keegan as an asset at the moment, given his contract and regression. I also don’t see any of the top 4 teams trading down, there’s a clear drop off after the first four players. It would take a gigantic offer, which I wouldn’t put past Vivek and SP if Vivek fell in love with one of those four.
I think I’d give up just about anyone on the team plus the 7th to move into the top 4. Might go for a future unprotected 1st that is not next year.
I would trade down with the Thunder for their 2 number ones and take Mara and Quaintance.
Can’t believe Wemby didn’t charged with assault. premeditated, intend to hurt. if that would of hit him an inch over. he could of died. Remember Rudy Tomjanovich getting punched by Kermit Washington.
The product is more important than the integrity of the game. If Reid would have done this to Wemby he would have been suspended for at least one game.
Who cares? Whoever the Kings draft is probably ending up third string behind a re-signed Westbrook and Devin Carter, with Doug Christie likely giving Carter the backup minutes anyway. No matter how it shakes out, the rookie probably won’t see meaningful playing time unless Christie’s hand gets forced because the team leans so heavily on “the vets.” It’s the same cycle with the Kings every year — bring in talent, bury them on the bench, stunt their development, then eventually ship them out.
Can’t argue with this.
I’d argue that Kings rarely bring in talent
I’d argue that Kings rarely bring in talent
Would be nice if the GM cleared the runway so Doug has no vet options to play. No Russ, DDR, Lavine. Get a rookie PG and let him learn and grow with Nique, Max, Keegan, and Domas.
But Perry likes his vets, and probably can’t move many of them. Russ is a sure possibility of returning. That makes me gag a little.
Westbrook isn’t coming back, and if we grab a point guard in the draft, he’s surely playing. My biggest wish is if the Kings figure out a way to buy out DDR. He can’t come back either. I think that would please a lot of Kings fans.
Scott Perry has specifically excluded Devin Carter from every discussion about young players on the Kings. I’m very sure that’s not a secret to Carter.
But yeah, I don’t see how Flemings or Acuff are going to develop playing behind Ja Morant. I guess maybe they’ll get minutes after Morant gets hurt, refuses to play or ends up in jail.
First of all we won’t know how this draft class is for a few years but I doubt it’s one of the best drafts ever. I don’t see superstars in this draft but it could turn out deep over time. Also, after number 1, I don’t think there is a big drop off again until 10 so I wouldn’t go crazy about the position of the pick. With that said it does appear it comes down to Acuff or Flemings and some team might make that decision for us prior to the Kings picking.
I’d probably go with Acuff but who knows at this point. I like the guy who can shoot, distribute, and get to the basket best. Bottom line this pick must come up significantly for the Kings and they must grab something serviceable or better in the second round with the two picks we have there. Also, there may be some hidden gems to sign as undrafted free agents. I like Jordon Pope from Texas who was PAC 12 freshman of the year at Oregon State. Now a senior he can really shot it with range and plays pretty good defense.
Lastly, we need to play whoever we draft immediately and hopefully find a roster spot for the second round picks. We also need to keep LaVine in the lineup playing at a decent level so he becomes viable trade bait at the midseason trade period. If he’s playing well, I can easily see him being highly desirable for a contending team. Denver is one place I can see him really making an impact. There are other teams also, so let’s get a young prospect or some draft capital for him. Certainly salary fillers will be required.
I’d play this lineup even though it creates some match up issues defensively.
Flemings or Acuff
LaVine
Murry
Sabonis
Raynaud
first off the bench is Clifford. Have to also play Monk and get some playing time for whoever else we draft in round two.
This won’t happen in 1-2 years but perhaps 3 if managed well. In the meanwhile we can put out an interesting team with some young, exciting and hopefully developing players. I don’t want to see anymore washed up veteran lineups and certainly don’t trade away any future draft capital.
Can someone help me with some names who would be absolutely terrible fits on this Kings roster, who are slated to go in the 15-20 range?
Because that’s who I think the Kings will ultimately take at 7.
Under rated comment.. so Kangzy
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