2015 Draft Review: Sacramento Kings

2015-16 Depth Chart

PG: Darren Collison/Ray McCallum/David Stockton

SG: Ben McLemore/Nik Stauskas

SF: Rudy Gay

PF: Willie Cauley-Stein/Carl Landry/Eric Moreland

C: DeMarcus Cousins/Jason Thompson

2015 Free Agents

F Derrick Williams (RFA)

F Omri Casspi

PF Reggie Evans

C Ryan Hollins

PG Andre Miller

What They Did On Draft Night
Drafted Kentucky center Willie Cauley-Stein 6th overall

Willie Cauley-Stein was long rumored to be a favorite both of Sacramento's various front offices and star center DeMarcus Cousins, so it was no surprise that is the direction they decided to go in. In theory it makes sense, the Kings' defense was one of the worst in the league last season, and Cauley-Stein was considered the best overall defensive prospect in the draft, a natural fit. In practice, however, it may not go so smoothly. On offense, it could really damage Sacramento's already poor spacing. Unless he takes a drastic step forward, Cauley-Stein is not a threat anywhere outside the basket area so there won't be any reason for teams to not double-off him to Cousins in the post, which will hurt his efficiency there. While it might seem logical to use Cousins further away from the basket, he shot just 38% outside the paint. So taking an already not terrifically efficient player and putting him in a position to be less efficient isn't exactly the best strategy for a not-great offensive team. Furthermore, Cousins is such a great offensive rebounder, moving him further from the basket hurts that as well. Sacramento might be able get by if they had great shooters on the floor elsewhere, but consider Sacramento's presumptive starting wings, Ben McLemore and Rudy Gay. Despite a reputation as a shooter, McLemore was really only effective from the corners, making 41% of his shots there while above the break hitting only 33%. Gay on the other hand shot 41% from the wings (above the break, but not straight on) but just 29% elsewhere. So the Kings can space the floor, but only from specific areas, something smart defenses can exploit by moving them off those spots. Even more of an issue is that three-pointers made up just 20% of Gay's offense, meaning 80% came inside the arc, which means Sacramento will be starting three mostly inside-the-arc players, it will be getting pretty crowded in there. Asking Gay to shoot more from the outside also risks a regression to the inefficiency that have plagued his career in previous seasons. Now trades, particularly of Gay could change this a little bit, but the fact remains Cauley-Stein will be easy to double off of no matter who else is on the floor, he is a pick-and-roll center, not a power forward to play next to a low post big. Even defensively Cauley-Stein's talents won't be maximized playing next to Cousins. Because you don't want Cousins defending on the perimeter and against pick-and-roll, you'll need to have him guard the opposing center and remain as close to the rim as possible, where he is very good getting in front and challenging shots. This puts Cauley-Stein on the power forward, where he should be excellent except it will be very easy for a team with a jump-shooting power forward to simply set him up in the corner on one side of the floor while running a pick-and-roll on the other side, negating Cauley-Stein's ability to switch and block shots. True he could leave his man to help cover the rim, but that would leave a wide-open three in the corner. And because he isn't much of a threat as a post-up player, teams can play small forward at the four with little chance of Cauley-Stein making them pay for going small. Carley-Stein needs to play center defensively, place him in the middle of the floor and use his ability to cover so much ground to blow-up pick-and-rolls, cut of penetration, and protect the rim. I think Cauley-Stein should still help their defense, but he can hurt their offense and won't be maximized to the fullest potential. George Karl is smarter than me, so maybe he can make it work. Playing fast will certainly help.

What To Do Next?

Trades trades trades! I'm not sure they have much they can really do in free agency, but rumors that they want Rajon Rondo would be horrifying and ruin even more spacing. A trade for Ty Lawson makes more sense and would definitely help them get better. Even more helpful would be moving Rudy Gay and acquiring a better shooter at small forward, former Karl player Danilo Gallinari perhaps? I am sure they'd like to make a run at Wes Matthews or Danny Green, but I can't see it happening unless they way overpay.

A bonus trade sure to never happen

Gay and Nik Stauskas to Denver for Lawson and Gallinari

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