Well, the Kings weren’t satisfied with just drafting in the lottery and calling it a night.
According to Jake Fischer who reported it first, the Kings have traded for the #29 pick in the draft and the rights to UConn forward Alex Karaban. As part of the deal, the Kings are sending the Eastern Conference finalists their #34 as well as their 2032 second rounder.
Alex Karaban is a 6 foot 6.5 forward who played all four years at UConn. Last season, he averaged 13.2 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.4 assists and shot 46.4% from the field, 37.4% from deep and 85.1% from the line. Karaban helped lead his UConn team to the national title game for a third time last season and is the all-time winningest player in UConn’s history. Karaban also earned himself first-team All-Big East honors this last season.
From Sam Vecenie of The Athletic:
Karaban profiles well to help a team because of his ability to make decisions, move the ball quickly, knock down shots and move incredibly well without the ball. On defense, he is always in the right position, consistently reads the play correctly and disrupts what the opposition wants to do by scrambling well. There are limitations in that he can’t beat anyone off the bounce and there are some on-ball defensive questions that could cause issues.
Still, I strongly believe that any NBA organization would be better off having Karaban’s presence within their system. He’s a hard worker, he has high character and he’s won a significant number of games as a starter on what has been the best college program in the country over the last five years. It speaks volumes that he has been the common denominator on the court in that time.
From J Kyle Mann of The Ringer:
High-level processor on both ends of the floor. Really intelligent maneuverer off the ball, whether it’s becoming a borderline playmaker as a screener, spacing the floor, or remaining engaged and attentive on defense. Karaban was an extremely low-waste player in one of the most execution-intensive systems. He maintained low turnover percentages, high assist percentages, and squeezed a lot of productive passing out of middle-of-the-road usage. His superpower is that he very rarely makes mistakes of commission or omission—his mindset won’t deviate from the game plan or what’s serving the team in the moment
From Ricky O’Donnell of SBNation:
Karaban was the ultimate college glue guy as a stretch forward, and he has two national championship rings to show for it. He just knows how to space the floor and move without the ball. The Kings needed some high IQ players, and Karaban fits that bill. I’m not sure he’s athletic enough to defend NBA forwards, so he’ll need to be a high level shooter.
And just in case you’re looking for a little more of a visual reference to Mr. Karaban, here’s a highlight reel of his NCAA Tournament run:
Welcome to Sacramento, Alex Karaban!
I actually really like this pick. Don’t have any issue moving up a few spots considering the cost was a 2nd way down the road, I think it’s fine. Karaban is an adult and a winner which this team and organization is sorely lacking. I like smart players who can shoot the hell out of the ball and are always in the right place on offense and defense.
Welcome to the Kings, Alex.
Sounds a fair bit like Nique in certain ways.
I’m all for drafting the high BBIQ types (we need more of them around here), but they also still need to be NBA-caliber athletes and players.
The jury is definitely still out on Nique, and it sounds like there are similar questions here.
Trading up to take a 4 year college ‘glue’ guy? Didn’t work with Clifford last year yet Perry is doubling down. This team doesn’t need older ‘glue’ guys, they need young talent. This team won’t need ‘glue’ guys until they have a core developed.
Lots of comps and similar age/size/shooting/defense to Sam Hauser. If you get even 80% of sam hauser at the 29th pick that’s a solid triple in my book. Time will tell
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