The NBA Draft is Almost Here. What Will the Sacramento Kings Do with the 13th Pick?

The NBA Draft is Almost Here. What Will the Sacramento Kings Do with the 13th Pick?

we’ve reached the home stretch before the NBA draft just over a week away and I still have no idea what the Sacramento Kings are going to do with the 13th pick do they trade it I think they should do they make a selection do they go fit do they go Talent do they address their wing depth do they throw a wrench in things and go get seven foot three Zack Edy who knows what the kings are going to do and the same thing can be said for pretty much all 29 other teams this draft is wide open the uh specul ation and draft boards and mock drafts are crazy and changing every single day including that of leaf T lean who’s one of the great uh draft experts here on the locked on podcast Network one of the hosts of the lockon NBA Big Board podcast he joins me here on lockon Kings today to talk about the Kings approach with 13 and he has some names for the Kings to keep on their radar to address both talent and fit it’s all right here for you on locked on Kings you are locked on Kings your daily Sacramento Kings podcast part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day and now ladies and gentlemen it is that time time for another episode of luck on [Applause] [Music] [Applause] Kings hello and welcome into lockon Kings your podcast hub for Sacramento Kings coverage all offseason long today’s episode is brought to you by prize Pi the easiest and most exciting way to play daily fantasy sports go to prize.com lockon NBA use code all lowercase locked on NBA for our first deposit match up to $100 my name is Matt George I have the privilege of being your host here I’m a Sacramento Sports Anchor and reporter for abc1 news and what I am not is a draft expert I have guys that I like I have guys that I’ve certainly gotten right in the past like Keegan Murray love that draft pick and it’s it’s been a home run for the Sacramento Kings in many ways I’ve also like the Sacramento Kings been dead wrong about draft selections year after year after year I am in no means a draft expert that’s why I go out and get guys like Leaf to help me to talk to and the locked on podcast network is fantastic the amount of just talent that this podcast network has in general is fantastic but draft Talent guys with a Keen Eye for talent and who different player how they’re going to translate and who teams should select and I mean this is Disneyland time of year for them it’s also an incredibly busy time of year so to be able to get Leaf here from the lock on NBA Big Board uh on to the lockon Kings podcast a week before the Draft starts is is pretty special I think you’re really gonna like this conversation with Leaf he throws out some different names and different options gives kind of good Insight on how he thinks the Kings should approach the draft and kind of here’s what I have to say about how I think the king should approach the draft uh so it’s a good conversation and if anything it helps you just get a little bit more ready for the draft coming up here very very shortly so I hope you enjoy my conversation with Leaf toen from the locked on NBA Big Board the NBA finals are over that means the attention turns to next season and step one is the NBA draft hard to believe we’re just over a week away from night one of the draft that’s right we have two nights this year which is going to be interesting and leaf tulen is one of the great experts here on the locked on podcast Network one of the hosts of the locked on NBA Big Board podcast this is the bus time of the year for him and he’s nice enough to spend some time with us here on lock on Kings to discuss this draft in general and what the Sacramento Kings should do around 13 Leaf it’s the home stretch my man I know this draft maybe isn’t as polarizing as as last year’s with Victor WN Bama and years past but it’s still an exciting time young men’s dreams are going to come true and and from everybody I’ve talked to maybe this isn’t the most exciting draft at the top but this is going to be one of those drafts that five years from now we look back and go oh look at that oh look at that guy he turned into something pretty special it happens every year right yeah I mean the most often compared draft to this one has been 2013 in which you you say oh Anthony Bennett went number one of course then this year is doomed to be awful or destined to be doomed uh well Victor I mean sorry Victor wanyama was last year but if you were to compare Victor wanyama to some of the players the two that I think were like he was liking to the most came out of that draft that was Rudy goar and Giannis aneka tumbo so you’re not necessarily going to strike gold and get those two who are future Hall of Famers but there it’s pretty hard to not have all stars in a draft like it just doesn’t happen I’ve gone through the history the animals of history and all stars are produced in each draft so who are they going to be not as clear this year but it makes it almost exciting from my perspective uh on lockt on NBA Big Board we’ve had a lot of debates whereas it’s kind of been consensus the two years I’ve been doing it of what’s going to happen uh and so I’m excited I think it’s interesting and your kings are an interesting spot as are as are my jazz I I don’t really love where my jazz are but the kings are closer than the Jazz are so it may be a little less riding on this pick but still an interesting spot I mean it’s not debatable that the higher you are the more valuable the pick is right if you’re you have a top four pick like the Kings had a couple years ago when they took Keegan Murray that’s significantly more valuable than 13 but maybe in a draft like this where there are more question marks and less certainties 13 might not be a horrible spot this year compared to in years past and and going through the history of 13 Leaf 13’s turned out a lot of really talented players going all the way back to Kobe Bryant you’ve had Donovan Mitchell you’ve had Devin Booker that went 13 Zack LaVine went 13 so it’s not like okay this is a number where the kings are going to be lucky to find any kind of talent my approach to this draft though Leaf from the king’s perspective is this like realistic expectations I’m not looking for a starter here if they turn into one three four years down the road fantastic I know it’s a lottery pick but i i my perspective is less on oh it’s a lottery pick you got to strike gold here and more on just try and find somebody who’s gonna actually help impact winning and and that’s maybe not the right approach to the draft to to to have consistently because I know there’s always a debate between drafting for Fit versus drafting best player available but the kings are in a win now mode right now I mean they’ve even admitted so they’re trying to win right now to me the idea of adding a rookie who is a freshman in college or fresh out of their first year in college who’s 19 20 years old who can be molded into something great and realize their potential four years from now I don’t that doesn’t have any value to me and value to the Sacramento Kings at this point doesn’t mean that they won’t end up selecting a freshman if that’s the route that they want to go but I look at 13 and I look at the position they’re in and some of the prospects and go okay if they don’t trade this pick maybe they go the Tristan D Silva route maybe they go the older guy older Prospect route and somebody who can plug into 12 minutes a night and just help this team win right away I just don’t know if those prospects exist yeah from right off the bat the first thing I want to address and we spoke very briefly off air before this is that you’re you’re right in my opinion the Kings and most teams from this draft that aren’t drafting you know the very top shouldn’t be looking for an immediate replacement for a player or an immediate starter and contributor because even at the top of this draft there’s unknowns about the capacity of doing so for XYZ team now in the case of the Kings you have your franchises top pieces in place you have players that are supplementary pieces but really good at the role you mentioned Keegan Murray Keegan Murray was picked at four and and he was a great pick and then you have guys that have not panned out have been picked high so that’s very possible as well but the reason I bring all that background up in this is at 13 in a CL in a class that’s not necessarily well regarded at the top you could very well get a guy who slips out of the lottery because people are worried about oh this guy’s not a very safe pick and they’re they’re choosing safely and maybe you have a potential guy and you can cultivate him or the the flip side of that is maybe you get a Tristan the Silva you mentioned who’s someone who’s a fifth year veteran who plays a lot of basketball plays very heady basketball or a Devin Carter someone from Providence who was a played four years of college basketball is a 20 point perame score but he’s not really a scorer by trade just kind of figured his way into it and he would be a role playing defend guard and and the Kings I mean frankly I know this is not going to be new to your listeners but defensively the kings were were not very good so maybe that’s of of note but the reason I go all the way the broad spectrum there is what you’re picking is a pick that you think will turn into a good player but not in the immediate short term it’s just you have to have faith that this player will be good whether you make it a safer one or boom or bust that’s up up to the franchise’s front office but you’re not necessarily saying this guy’s going to turn us into back back into to the three seed you were two years ago and so I want to preface that for your listeners I know that’s not news to you but I think too many people have unrealistic expectations because of the success of the 13 pick and because of previous drafts and what you just said right there is why I think the writing is on the wall for the Sacramento Kings trying to shop this pick it’s already been reported and it’s it’s pretty common sense I don’t think we need to hear reports of how aggressively the kings are shopping the pick to know that it makes the most sense for them to try and move the pick but shopping it and actually dealing it for the right price for getting another team to actually agree to take that pick two completely different things like you mentioned we were talking very briefly before uh before we started recording here you don’t think that there’s G to be a tremendous amount of interest is it specifically in this pick or in the range or do you not expect much movement in this draft at all just because of the way the class is I think at the very top there’s more possible movement in the sense that well there’s not a vikor w Bama there’s not a Brandon Miller in order to that that you would really want and but the teams don’t want to give up the pick so if some team is willing to part with a player then you can infiltrate the top 10 or top 13 in this case but I don’t know if the teams that are thinking about getting one of these players want to give up an actual established NBA player for what isn’t unknown particularly at 13 now should a guy like Ron Holland fall uh maybe a Rob Dillingham probably not of interest for the Kings but just for the sake of discussion those type of players that are are very highly touted have a lot of talent but are are somehow slipping according to rumors should they fall maybe they attract a Suitor and the Kings can say well we’re not going to take either of those guys they don’t help us in the immediate short term and and maybe we can get an established basketball player that that is of a position of need you know and then you can go fit with a player that’s actually established as opposed to going an assumptive fit at of a 19-year-old which I think is always silly people are like oh he’s a perfect fit and you’re like you haven’t seen him play in the NBA like he’s going to be positions and so I think it’s possible but I don’t think many teams are going to want to part with actual assets that move them into that territory typically now I got the Keegan Murray draft pick right and it’s not because I thought he’d turn into as good well I was hoping he’d turn into as good as he has and he still has a long way to go it was because I I I love the idea of the type of player that he was I like the fact that he was an older Prospect at the time but I also loved the fit and this is where I would probably be a terrible general manager with my approach to the draft because I lean more towards fit than best talent available all the time now that’s gotten the Kings straight burned in the past like terribly burned with how bad their draft history has been so I’m completely aware of that but I when I approach the draft I cannot help but take into account what the team needs and for this team it’s obvious it’s three and D wings now everybody in the league Leaf wants more three and D Wings it’s one of the most outside of maybe a point guard it’s probably the most valuable position in the NBA right now and the Kings lack significant size and depth at that position we’re talking about guys that are 67 68 69 with over seven foot wingspans who can space the floor on offense to open things up for dearon but on the defensive end can stay in front front of their guy and for God’s sakes defend the perimeter to where the Kings aren’t giv up 40 plus percent from three every night that is what they are looking for and they’re not just looking for it in the draft they’re looking for in free agency in trades period that is the number one need outside of resigning Malik monk this offseason in my opinion I don’t know what your thoughts are on approaching a draft for need versus best talent available but now that I’ve laid out what the Sacramento Kings specifically are looking for do you think there are options in this draft class that could maybe not directly address that right away but could give the king some depth in that area and that’s a step forward yeah I tend to lean toward best player available I I think potential and best player available are the best way to go because if they end up hitting then you can orchestrate the to the needs elsewhere with I actually love T Burton so that’s that’s that’s one and I didn’t love Keegan Murray at four so you know one for two for me um but uh the greater point being I think in this case there’s going to be a mix I think you take the best player available should Ron Holland be falling I don’t think he’s going to be great year one for the king but he could be really good down the road to pair with other players could it be jacobe Walter this is like another guy that’s linked the Kings could it be Devin Carter these are all mostly three and D Wings because I think that’s also uh what is kind of in that area of the draft like you’re going to see the the top Wings the Cody Williams Matas buellis Dalton connects I think are all going to come off the board six through 10 and now what’s left you’re going to find the Faller of that uh and then you’re going to find maybe a guard that you didn’t expect to fall falls into your lap and maybe you do test the best player available Theory even though guard is a strength for the Kings or point guard that is so to answer your question it it depends how the board Falls but what I think happens is the play the position that the Kings probably need most like you said is some a versatile three and D Wing I think that is a position that will be there in the draft so you don’t necessarily have to pick position or best player available barring a ridiculous drop of someone that I didn’t I didn’t foresee coming uh the one the one name that I would monitor that that you haven’t said so far uh would be Jaylen Tyson from Cal so not too far a road from from Burkley up to Sacramento but I I think he’s a guy who could play more immediately than some of these other guys and I know I just said you don’t necessarily want to pin players into playing sooner rather than later but I it’s just a pick that I think could make sense and I don’t think too he’s on the radar of Too Many Kings fans from the few interactions I’ve had quick break here as I tell you about a great sponsor of the locked on Kings podcast that is linked in when you’re hiring for your small business you want to find quality candidates that are right for the role that’s why you have to check out LinkedIn jobs LinkedIn jobs has the tools to help you find the right Professionals for your team faster and for free LinkedIn isn’t just another job board it has a vast network of more than a billion professionals which makes it the best place to hire it gives you access to professionals that you can’t find anywhere else LinkedIn does all that while making the process easy and intuitive hiring is easy when you have that many quality candidates so easy in fact that 86% of small businesses get a qualified candidate within 24 hours LinkedIn knows that small businesses are wearing many hats and might not have the time or the resources to hire LinkedIn is constantly finding ways to make that process easier they even just launched a feature that helps you write job descriptions making the process even easier and quicker that’s why two and a half million small businesses use LinkedIn for hiring post your job for free at linkedin.com lockon NBA that’s linkedin.com lockon NBA to post your job for free terms and conditions apply jacobe Walter is someone that I’ve seen connected to the Kings for a while and that might have influenced my my looking into him a little bit but also just from paying attention to his game the immediately the thing that draws me away from him or that I’m a little concerned about is in terms of three and D Wing he’s on the smaller side he’s more of a two then he is a three and the kings in my opinion need more three four depth but he has the near seven foot wingspan I think he measured out what 610 611 wingspan so he has at least a length on the perimeter the Kings need to do better or have more length period to be able to just close out on three-point Shooters and then there’s the the the three-point shooting to where he was what like a 34 35% three-point shooter so nothing that’ll blow your socks off right not like a Jared McCain uh McCain we talk about in a little bit but someone who can at least be enough of a threat on perimeter to where if he’s playing if he gets opportunity he should not muddy things down for dear what do you think about him spec and again this is my perspective based off of conversations that I’ve had and the limited amount of film that I’ve watched I’m no expert like yourself when you look at him and you think about potential fit the Kings maybe going a little smaller than they need for a player like that what do you think about that so jacobe Walter and Jared McCain are are almost like foils for one another in my opinion because jacobe Walter doesn’t really have this this wiggle um that that you’d associate with a two guard and so that would be his negative but you’d expect a two guard who I think he’s a good shooter like I know he shot like 33 and a half percent from three but you watch him shoot and he can really shoot it so I actually think he’s going to be a plus NBA shooter and I think he’s probably a slightly plus NBA Defender that bodess well but the the reason I I tend to think lower on him then then maybe he will end up going is because I expected him to be a Ballin hand guy coming in and maybe that taints my my visualization of what he was at Baylor because I I expected him to do more with the ball in his hands and he he didn’t impress me that way so I think his upside is kind of capped at being a three and d and I know three and D like you said is a lucrative position one that’s needed for teams but I think versatility is something that’s becoming more coveted so if he can put the ball on the floor He makes himself more valuable than just hitting open threes and behooving or benefiting himself from having sabonis or fox or wherever he lands but in this case sabonis and fox kind of Distributing to him I think he could work for the Kings though because he’s not as small too like you said in height and stature he is a two but he does have long arms and he does work hard on defense now Jared McCain the reason I say they’re kind of fols for one another is Jared McCain came in and you’re like well what is this guy gonna be he’s got this eccentric personality and and you don’t really know what you’re getting but he can shoot the ball and he rebounds the ball he puts himself in the right positions but he’s just small like he I I don’t I don’t know exactly measured out but I would Hazard a guess without choosing about 6′ one maybe 6′ one and a half so that’s a guy that I don’t think worked for the Kings even though I don’t like I’m not a fit guy but maybe in today’s era of basketball where three-point shooting is so important that you can say well you know that we got a big two and a small two and one of them’s just so good at shooting and the other one I think will be a positive like if you were to put it zero to 100 I think jacobe Walter and the skill of NBA players by you know four years into his NBA career probably at 60 th percentile three-point shooter McCain could be 85th like he’s a great shooter maybe even higher but how many shots will he get on the ball because you’d think he’s a point guard so how can he play defense if he’s a two guard he does Rebound well um but he’s not really an athlete he he’s not an explosive jumper he’s not a great lateral mover so I think he suffers for that but boy can he shoot the ball um so they’re kind of the the reasons for why I have hesitancy on both of them are the exact opposite I feel like a couple years ago granted that was the the um the Keegan Murray draft but a a couple years ago I think Jared McCain would be very close to the top of of the king’s board for that range just because of what you said alone like the three-point shooting plus he’s a HomeTown Story Sacramento kid so there’s always that kind of tie it and people love those stories and those narratives here in the California capital but it a Jared McCain pick and it it sounds so harsh to say this Leaf but the Jared McCain pick to me is what the Kings I think the Kings should be trying to get away from right there and it’s it’s not anything to do with him but it’s more to do with being infatuated by that Elite shooting which absolutely is a premium skill in the NBA today but the Kings have that in abundance theoretically right on the on this roster they still have Kevin herder there’s question marks about him in his future I know different types of players Kevin’s bigger more of a true two than McCain’s more of a one but they have an abundance of point guards and I just don’t see a way of him consistently cracking the rotation number one number two again to me this offseason is all about getting your roster on the same page with your philosophy you just recommitted to Mike Brown he’s the First Kings coach since Rick Adelman in almost 20 years to get a second contract right you’ve just committed to this and how he wants to play and how he believes you need to play McCain does not fit that so I again I like the hometown boy I like the story I like the opportunity for him as a shooter and I know this has made me some enemies here in Sacramento for people who who love the idea of going out and getting him I just think that’s a yesterday’s King’s Move versus today’s or tomorrow’s Kings need to be looking away from that need to be looking away from the infatuation of the great shooting but the undersized for maybe less of a fantastic shooter but more of a bigger physical established body who can play the hard-nosed defense that Mike Brown and the kings are looking for and and maybe jacobe Walter isn’t that guy either but that’s what the king in my opinion should be more focused on I’m with you and I don’t know if it’s necessarily jacobe Walter be it Jaylen Tyson like I said Tristan Silva whoever it might be but my my musings on the NBA is basically teams want to get bigger just as much as they want to shoot well if you can get a big player who shoots well that’s the best thing possible but you’re not going to see very many diminutive guards play together like my jazz are a cautionary tale Donovan Mitchell and mik were an exceptional backourt but it doesn’t win you NBA playoff series and in the Kings case uh like they had one of the anomalies of this and Davon Mitchell who was small but because he was so good defensively uh he could get compensate for it but you know what he lacked he lacked a shot and so the there’s going to be no guards that are small that don’t shoot well but there’s also going to be very few guards that are small that are off the ball like that’s my qualm with Reed Shepard I don’t think he’s a point guard whereas a lot of people project are kind of uh estimating out of thin air that he’s going to be the point guard um and and it’s like okay well if he’s 61 he’s not a point guard what are you getting and I know I digress a little bit but the reason I bring this up for the Kings is you have your point guard you have your future your your Center I don’t know what position you want to qualify Keegan Murray at but those are your three foundational pieces so how do you surround them I think you get a sizable piece whether it’s a a three and it’s redundant whether it’s a two and he’s big whether it’s a a four that you think you can play with through the years maybe even go with a center that you think can be defensively oriented like like Eve Mei who has a bunch of potential um but I think he go for big and skilled as opposed to raw and athletic or or small and having one skill like you’re going for size is almost more important than being a complete player at this point but shooting and size is what’s at a premium but I think size with a slightly less good shooting is going to be more valued than really good shooting with lesser than size let’s talk about Ron Holland for a second the general consensus is that he will not be there at at 13 but maybe he could slide and I’ll get back to that in just a little bit but somebody who had a bad season on a terrible team right like the g-league ignite were were really really bad how much can we how much do we read into that when we’re talking about an individual performer playing a team that’s literally created to help players out of high school get into the NBA draft and get that year of experience against some more professional players I have no idea still how to really dissect and break down g-league ignite experience versus playing at the University of Kentucky or Kansas or playing overseas it’s a whole different element but in terms of what the kings are looking for a 3 four physical 67 68 in shoes like this is this is what they’re looking at so I’m curious first part of it is just your opinion overall on Ron Holland and his uh ability to to develop into something at the NBA level the other element of that is if he’s one of those guys that does slide and the Kings find themselves at 13 and Ron Holland is there this is burn the kings in the fast specifically in a Thomas Robinson draft but do you almost think the mindset should change to he’s there go get him type thing or we we got to take him we can’t turn that down I mean unless you have someone higher on the board I agree like I said I I do believe in And subscribe in best player available Ron Holland I’ve had as high as three at some points of this process wow um I’m a little lower right now and it’s not because of anything he did differently it’s just I I’ve thought about kind of the philosophy of how this draft will go being different but the things about Ron Holland like you said six7 uh he he’s a Livewire athlete 38 and a half inch vertical really moves his feet well shots not great but here’s the positive like I agree that he probably didn’t put forth the best performance in the G league but he did score 20 points per game as an 18-year-old in playing professional basketball like those are all facts and you know that there’s not that many people who can do that and and I’m like okay that that’s great so if my jazz are at 10 and they think you know what we’re gonna go with potential I won’t complain about Ron Holland so if the kings are there at 13 Ron Holland there and like I told you earlier I don’t think he’d be an immediate contributor because I think there’s a Ron a a physicality that he’s got to his game that’s physical and and aggressive he attacks close outs he creates space but he doesn’t shoot well well the Kings need some shooting right so that that doesn’t quite work but I do think there’s a way in which they could mold him into a player that would Thrive under Mike Brown who wants to be good defensively like Mike Brown’s adapted to create an offensive Juggernaut but he’s defensively an excellent coach throughout his tenure with the Cavs with the Warriors all these different teams and so I I think he wants one of those type of Livewire athletes and and the best he’s really gotten other than dearon Fox which is a totally different story but of the at the wing position is probably Keon Ellis and Keon Ellis is is a good player but he’s not of the pedigree of Ron Holland in terms of athleticism nor nor uh just out of high school pedigree so I would probably take that pick like I said I like Jaylen Tyson a lot uh for for the Kings um just six7 plays basketball the right way plays offense plays defense shot 39% while on the ball as kind of the the main focal point of an offense a few years prior he shot 41% as a just an energy athlete at a different School meaning he can play both multiple roles and a theme with me if you guys haven’t caught on is I really like versatility some of these wings like the elite Wings in the NBA that are not like the upper echelon not the Paul George the Kawhi Leonards you you look at Jaden McDaniels for instance one of my favorite players he’s really good on one side of the basketball on the other side he’s a dare shooter you look on the opposite side of the spectrum you’ve got Michael Porter Jr the premier 3 and D the opposite way where he’s a great shooter really really poor on defense and granti he’s improving on defense but these are just the upper echelon in each window sure I’m trying to kind of point the 75th percentile in each as opposed to the 100th and and 50th and so what I’m trying to P pigeon hole almost is or you don’t want to be pigeon hole to be relegated to the corner on offense then you guard the best player on defense doesn’t work like at a certain point you get exposed on one side of the basketball so I’m looking for complete players and I think he Jaylen Tyson’s one of those complete players Tristan D Silva is a similar story so that if the KE Kings do take this pick I think they go with one of those type of players who’s maybe more ready to help them sooner um because they they are in wi now mode but I don’t know if I fully agree with it because like I said Ron Holland is a talent um but just sometimes you have to play with your timeline timeline matters whereas if you’re in the top seven that means you’re drafting there for a reason you’re not really very good so you shouldn’t pick a fit you should pick to make your team better in the long run in the Kings case I can make an argument for myself take an older player that can help you in the four years that they’re a rookie they’re cheap and hopefully they outperform the rookie contract today’s episode of the lock D Kings podcast is also brought to you by prize pick America’s number one fantasy sports app with more than five million members it’s the most fun and exciting way to get in on the action while you watch your favorite sports and players you just pick more or less on two or more player stats for a shot to win up to 100 times your cash look the NBA season is over I know it’s going to be a long off season now before the start of basketball again in October and plus trust me once it starts prize picks is the place to be but prize picks can help you kill that time you can play prize picks every day with basketball or excuse me baseball with WNBA action as soon as we get football season started prize picks is incredible for the NFL and college football seasons there’s so many unique ways to play all while making your experience as a fan and a viewer that much better price picks is available in more than 30 States across the country including California Texas and Georgia so you can play right now in the California capital plus prize piix offers injury insurance that your lineup stays in play even if one of your players gets hurt in a in the first half or in the first quarter right that’s especially big for basketball and football games nobody else does that they’ll just say tough luck and got to take your money with that prize pick does not penalize you for a player going down with an injury there are so many different fun ways to play prize pick so I encourage you to go and check it out right now download the app today and use code locked on NBA for first deposit match up to $100 prize picks pick more pick less it’s that easy leaf whether it’s your Big Board the mock drafts everybody’s it’s been chaotic and I mean that in a good way because you see players that somebody has going Lottery that somebody has going at the very very tail end of the first round to maybe even sneaking into the the early second round I mean it’s just this there’s so many different opinions on this draft class and so many guys could go in different different directions in different areas I think it makes it entertaining I think it makes it exciting I think it makes draft night unpredictable which to me adds an entertainment value to it but I also think that puts a team like the Sacramento Kings who are are sitting in 13 in a position to go we can take a guy if we have confidence in him at 13 we should take him higher than he’s expected to go because you know what we want him he’s exactly what we’re looking for and if we get dragged for it because he was in the 20s on the big board range or even in the the the like upper 20s to approaching 30 in the Big Board range like you know what we’ll just we we’ll take him because that’s the guy we’re looking for and that’s the guy that we want and some names that have already been floated that immediately come to mind like Zack Ed of course is is one of them and I know there are obvious concerns with being a 73 guy in the speed of the NBA uh and his game being able to translate another guy that I see going pretty late and I know he was dealing with some uh I think it was nagging knee injuries at Kansas but Kevin mcer Jr is another guy that I see typically going in like the the 20s and Below range that in theory could be someone that the Kings could be looking at as he he might present some of the things that they’re looking for on the defensive end and with his side and and his ability so I’m just curious your your opinion on on those names that I I I threw out there and also the thought of being at 13 and being in a position to go you know what we like this guy we don’t care where people are expecting him to go we’re just taking him and and and dealing with the consequences yeah for that for that last point I think I commend the front offenses that do that like that that take their guy for instance a success story of this would be cam Johnson picked 11th was probably 25th at the highest of anyone big of anyone’s big war fifth year senior three years at Pittsburgh two years at North Carolina all ACC and they’re like 11 and and his own teammate Kobe white does the wow like he’s yeah and so that’s how shocked he was so that that’s a success story there are ones that have been like what on Earth are they doing Kings did that orus PO Onis yep that’s exactly what I was gonna say at 13th pick ironically enough I think oh um but but okay to answer your individuals I would steer clear of mcculler okay uh I personally it’s funny if you if you look at Terence Shannon Jr uh who was at Texas Tech with Kevin mcculler before they each transferred their separate ways I always was saying that mcculler was the better player mcculler is the better player and I thought his basketball was helping them win and and Shannon’s was showoff flashy basketball well they transfer their separate ways and then mcculler got this first round buzz by trying to score and he was 20 points per game so what he really is is to me like he’s a Tory Craig Tory Craig that scored 20 at Kansas because he’s older and stronger than people but his knees have gone he he’s not the same player he’s a bad shooter and if he La if he lacks some athleticism then I don’t know what you’re picking so I would steer clear of Kevin mcculler Zack EDI uh interesting I mean I think he’s going to go in the top 15 to 20 I wouldn’t take him for the Kings because you’re going to play so many minutes already with Damonte sabonis that I don’t know if you want to have I mean either you commit to it you you’re like okay we’re going Twin Towers here like you got two huge guys and you clog up the paint but today’s day they’re shooting so many threes even if you’re dominant defensively like which is best case scenario I I don’t know how you score with the analytics like even and Mike Brown’s a Cutting Edge coach in that in that department but that that would concern me so I don’t love either of those but I do think what you’re saying there’s significant Merit too of taking a guy that’s lower on boards um I’m just going to scan through a board make sure I’m not missing anyone that could fit this like I said I think there’s a world in which a guy like Eve Mei uh who’s on most boards picked somewhere between 15 to 25 I I could see him being a center but just kind of the athletic change of pace guy is it uh is it a guy like I mean maybe maybe you could consider going for I uh I mean Tristan D Silva is fairly low on some boards Johnny Fury is another guy who I think is athletic and he’s young I don’t know if he’d be ready to help the Kings right away but he’s six foot n he moves like he’s 6’5 I saw him twice in person and he shoots the ball well he was at Kansas and I thought he was a better player than mcculler in terms of what the NBA is mcculler was the better teammate because he’s five years older um but I don’t know I think I think if someone were to put their cards on the table and they take the guy they really like uh I always respect that but but I think in this case those two fits would give me pause especially mcculler because of his history with injuries and I think he’s a honestly bad shooter like there’s not much faith I have on in his shot even though the numbers will say it’s adequate well Leaf like we said we’re a week away now from draft night itself I know it’s only going to pick up for you what are you putting out there what can people expect from yourself and locked on NBA big board from now until the draft begins well it’s a it’s a busy busy week and a half or however many days now it’s all blending together for me uh I’m rapael is is hanging around he’s right now it’s James Barlo uh Richard and I hosting a lot of streams debating different topics uh couple of them have been who has the most All-Star potential so maybe the Kings could go for one of those guys uh which which people are rising we’re very up to the up to the news on who’s Rising who’s falling discussing rors our personal preferences so all the above is there and then uh for me personally I’m doing locked on Jazz right now so which is making me think in a totally different uh different vein of how to address this draft from how I’ve been addressing it for the big board before my favorite team and I think it’s honestly more similar to the Kings than you’d think because I don’t think at 10 there’s really that star that we can take unless the the cards fall perfectly in our favor but the kings are in a better spot than the Jazz so give you guys reassurance because you guys aren’t that far from making the playoffs making a run but don’t fret and say that this is a life or death type of pick because it’s not really you can you can be good without nailing this pick but obviously it helps if you nail the pick I I’ll sneak in a question that I asked David lock a couple days ago Leaf because I did a I did a podcast where I was discussing backup plans if Malik monk does decide to to leave in free agency and and first off to be fully transparent if Malik monk leaves I think the kings are in a world of hurt but they got to do something right and one of the ideas that that came to mind is calling the Utah Jazz and discussing potentially a Jordan Clarkson trade what is your interest level or what just from your Jazz perspective on things how interested do you think the Jazz would be in in moving on from Clarkson I don’t know how heavy the Kings would go in trying to trade for him how desperate they would be and how much they’d be willing to give up for him but he’s a good motor a guy that works hard I think he’s a guy that would be very appealing to for Mike Brown to have his rotation from the Jazz perspective I I actually would would definitely entertain it because the Jazz I don’t think have any way of competing beyond what they had these past years and and I’ve been vocal about I think it was a mistake that the Jazz did not pick a direction uh sooner in the year and I was Pro tank for two straight years especially with when Bama but even this year like you could say hey there’s not really Stars at the top but I’d rather instead of have the 10th pick because we went 26 and 26 through 52 games when we started off seven and 19 uh and you make that surge for nothing because you become in no man’s land but long story short I think the Jazz they pick a Direction they say Jordan Clarkson Colin seon John Collins even Walker Kessler are on the market uh I I think that behooves the Jazz because that means you’re picking a direction and choosing a direction makes the future more clear even if it is one step backwards two steps forward as opposed to in mediocrity uh so I don’t know what the Kings would return but if they are a Suitor for Jordan Clarkson they his contract’s not horrible 14 mil uh average contract I think it’s three or 52 is what it was um and and but the end is backload something any interesting but anyway regardless it is he gets he gets enough money to command respect in that regard but he also uh isn’t the worst contract to take on if you’re trying to compete and the Kings maybe have some players or picks that they could send the Jazz’s way and I would be amable to that trade if I were in in charge of the Jazz and just because I know that some in my comment section are going to be asking about it outside of a deal you can’t refuse Lowry markkanen’s not available right I’ve been under the impression that marinin is like not going anywhere yeah it do it does seem that he is very much entrenched in Utah’s future plans good uh my personal preference is the Jazz listen about everyone because if if if you have to have a a star to win in the NBA which it seems like you do um I don’t know if Lowry’s a number one but he’s certainly should not be traded for someone that’s not you don’t believe is going to be better than him it’s not for an aggregation of pieces so because no one’s really gonna make that trade I think he’s firmly entrenched in Utah and rightfully so well we’ll see what the Kings do on the draft the trade market free agency it all starts now now that the NBA Finals is over Leaf I really appreciate you taking the time my man during this busy busy week to chat with me here on lock on Kings about the Kings approach we’ll see what the Kings do on draft night and then I’ll have to have you back on and we’ll uh we’ll get your opinions and I guess you’re grade on how the Kings did and and the selection that they made but good context I know our listeners appreciate it so thank you so much absolutely always a pleasure [Music]

Matt George is joined by Locked On NBA Big Board analyst and NBA Draft expert Leif Thulin to break down the 2024 NBA Draft class and the Sacramento Kings’ approach to draft night.

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The NBA Draft is Almost Here. What Will the Sacramento Kings Do with the 13th Pick?
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