Who do we draft?

Isaac may be my favorite player in this draft after Fultz. Not necessarily the best, but my favorite. I like his floor as a 3&D forward who rebounds well despite his frame and I like his potential to be much more.

Looks like the Melo era in New York is over, which may be another sign a top tier SF may not drop

Yes this would be a draft day trade. According to most the top three guys are considered possible franchise level talents. If the Kings scouting department also believes this it's a trade to consider like the post says. IMO Kings aren't competing for titles the next three years and IMO won't be on the top of most top FA's lists. As stated these are the type of deals I would like to see considered, taking some bad contracts in exchange for valuable assets.

I think I'm in the minority here on the board but I don't see a franchise player on this team. I don't see Skal or Buddy as your #1 or #2 players on a playoff team with a real shot at the title. Obviously is still really early and a lot can change but if the Kings see one of these guys in this draft as a franchise player it's a risk I would consider. It's a lot easier to find role players then franchise changing talent.

Definitely not good for the cap standpoint.....Kings inheriting bloated contracts for essentially picking up the 3rd pick - worth it for Fultz, though, maybe.
NBA salary situation is off the rocker.

Some evaluators have him getting picked around 4 or 5.....there's a good chance the Kings don't get him unfortunately. He dribbles well for his size. He's gonna get pushed around though.

You're new(er) around here so I don't know if you're aware of the Kings' version of the Golden Rule: we don't help the Lakers, ever.

Taking on both of their major free agency mistakes from last summer would be bailing them out of 3 more years of wasted cap space. Yeah we'd be getting a potential franchise player in the exchange but we'd also be giving them a 2 for 1 on lottery tickets and that's not necessarily a win for us either. I like Fultz and Jackson but I don't think anyone is really worth packaging both our picks for. Right now I'm comfortable seeing who out of Fultz, Ball, Jackson, Fox, Smith, Tatum, Isaac, Ntilikina, or Monk falls to us at #8. Closer to the draft I might change my mind but even then I'd probably be trading up for Ntilikina or Fox in the 5-7 range not trying to get all the way to the top 3. If we're taking on all that guaranteed money for negative value veterans they'd better be giving us an unprotected future first round pick and two years of swap rights bare minimum. The bar has been set there and I'm not lowering anything for the GD Lakers.

It seems like Vlade Divac isn't aware of this Golden Rule either, based on the DeMarcus trade rumors, but fortunately their own incompetence saved us from that disaster.
In any case, now you know. Learn it, use it, we'll get along fine.

Well, to be honest, the Knicks need every position, except for power forward.

No thanks.

“Never interfere with your enemy when he is making a mistake.”

Those contracts LAL gave out this year will haunt them.

https://16winsaring.com/sixteen-nba-draft-profile-dennis-smith-jr-71b5c49959ff

Here's a link calling for the Kings to draft Dennis Smith. He definitely has some red flags from what I can tell but offensively at least his upside is thru the roof.

If Frank, Fox & Isaac are gone at 8...even if it's Fox & Frank, you absolutely have to draft Dennis Smith and figure out the rest later. You don't pass on talent with that high of a ceiling.

Fultz, Jackson and Ball are sure to be gone by #8

I have no idea how they will fall after that. But two out of Fox, Isaac, Tatum, Smith, Ntilikina & Monk will be there if the Kings stay put at 8.

I love Monk but not for the Kings unless he really shows some PG skills. And even then I'd be iffy. So I'd take whoever else is left from that group.

I want Isaac and Fox the most but Ntilikina or Smith would be okay.

Smith has flaws like any prospect - poor length, tendency to pound the air out of the ball and play selfishly, poor defense, injury history etc. But he's also a good (bordering on great) athlete by NBA PG standards,explosive to the hoop, strong, a guy who can score on all three levels, decent in the P&R, etc

But it's his attitude that scares me with him.

It's only over if they find a trade that Carmelo agrees to. He has a no trade clause.

EDIT: My phone autocorrected Melo to "smell". I was tempted to leave it.

I'm with you on Isaac and any of the PG. Some have Tatum dropping to us at 8. I even had one where we got Tatum and Isaac (at 10).

Fox, Temple, Isaac, Skal and WCS would a be a quick switching lineup.

The good news is that one of the top PGs/SFs has to drop to 8 just out of sheer mathematical certainty. [Fultz, Ball, Fox, Ntilikina, Smith] that's 5 PGs and [Jackson, Isaac, Tatum] that's 3 SFs which adds up to 8 players and that's before you consider the possibility of Monk or Markkanen sneaking into the mix somewhere. Fultz, Ball, Jackson are gone for sure by 8 but anyone else is a possibility, some more likely than others. I would think that Fox is probably the least likely but he's also the worst outside shooter of the group which could become a bigger issue for teams if he doesn't show significant improvement in workouts. I really have no idea right now who anybody is picking.

Personally, I really really want one of Fox or Ntilikina. Those are the only guys I would consider trading up for. We want a lead guard who rolls up their sleeves (so to speak) and plays both ends of the floor. If either one is there at 8 I'd be crushed if we passed on them. PGs with their level of defensive intensity don't come along very often. I also think Dennis Smith Jr. has a higher ceiling than both of them (but more outright bust potential) so I would be okay with him as a fallback option and hoping our coaching staff can break some of his bad habits (afterall, they did get Willie to man up and finally attack the glass like a 7 footer at the end of the season). Miles Bridges was who I wanted at 10 so I need some time to mourn reevaluate there. I really like Miles Bridges as a prospect. Maybe next year.

If the Knicks don't jump in the top 3 but pick at #6 I could see a scenario where Fox is available when they pick. Considering Fox doesnt really fit with the triangle, they might be willing to trade down and grab Ntilikina/Smith . Should we then package #8 and #10 to move up? This seems like a heavy price to pay for moving up two spots (especially because he could them slide all the way to #8 too). But I really like Fox. I have him as the third best player in this draft.
Maybe #8 + Richardson or Papagiannis for Fox?

The kings need to add talent, in no way should they be sending 2 top 10 picks for a #6 pick. The draft is 10 deep of 5-star prospects.

I think that fox, ntilikina, and Smith are pretty equal as prospects. They all have pluses and minuses. I would hold steady at 8 and 10 and draft the best remaining pg at 8 and best small forward at 10.

If you think that Fox, Smith and Ntilikina are equal than I can totally see your point why you wouldn't do that. However I think Fox is a tier above them. I think that's what it comes down. But I agree. I'd rather send Richardson/PapaG and keep the other pick.

Regarding drafting a SF at #10: Depends on who is going to be there. If it's Isaac I agree. If it's Anunoby I first want to see the medical reports and then maybe rather go with Zach Collins. All in all I wouldn't be too concerned that we need to grab a SF at #10. We also have the #34 pick. That's usually a great spot value wise to grab a 3&D wing. Guys like Wes Iwundu, Mikal Bridges and Devin Robinson could all be available.

Noway the kings trade any of our current young players to move up in this 10 deep draft. If we get one of those top guards be it Fox , Ntilikina or Smith at 8 I would be quite happy; and If all that is left at 10 is Collins that is a great pick in most drafts. Monk could possibly work in our offense as well with Buddy showing a little bit of point guard skills.

I agree on the PGs and I highly doubt Fox will be at 8. Smith Jr would be good, or Frank Ntilikina maybe even a better fit for the Kings. If Issac is taken, I wouldn't be opposed to Markannen at 10 as a backup pick....also could be interesting to trade down the 10 pick for 2 later 1st rounders (ie 17 and 25?) Monk though seems redundant to Hield. I wouldn't go overboard on offense selecting Monk and Smith Jr, or Monk and Markannen. Need to consider personnel. It will be a difficult draft due to selecting 2 players or more. Trading down has some appeal - what about trading down for PG Juwan Evans ?Although its difficult to project/prepare as you don't know which other team will want Evans....Maybe they can package their 2nd round pick to pick up Evans, after Issac and then a BPA for PF depending on where Evans lands. In this way they could address PG and move up the PF list a couple selections.

Rookie PG #8 (Frank||Smith Jr)/ (Lawson||Collison)
Hield/Temple/Richardson
Rookie SF #10(Issac?)/ Tolliver
WCS/Skal/ Rookie PF #34
Koufos/PapaG

The Kings would be short-sighted to not pick a PG at 8 or 10. Some draft boards have Issac going much higher. Since the Mavericks have Barnes already, if Issac is available at 8, the Kings could take their choice at PG and hope the Mavericks don't elect to take Issac. If Issac is gone by 8, the Kings might consider trading down for additional players for either 8 or 10 depending on which PG they want. Evans may have a top 3 dribbling skill at PG - although he may get eaten alive in the NBA on defense and be a liability.

Smith Jr reminds of Baron Davis actually, though maybe not as good a deep shooter. That would be excellent if he could make it to Davis prime level who fearlessly attacked the rim. Smith's dunking ability is not quite Westbrook, but pretty close. He doesn't look to be the rebounder though.

One thing that bothers me is, that Vlade seems pretty adamant on not drafting guys, who refuse to work out in SAC. After this season and the media backlash on the Cousins trade (at least the few sports writers I read didn't use a lot of kind words when covering the Kings during and after the trade) I fully expect some highly regarded prospects to refuse to work out for the Kings. That and the high value Vlade places in things like character and personalities that fit in with the team, we might actually once again do something completely unexpected on draft night. I just hope we do nothing stupid.

I like the idea of trading down for Evans as well if we don't like who is available at #10 (f.e. Markannen). But instead of trading down for #17 and #25 I'd call Portland and try to get #15 and #19.
But then you'd really have to take a draft and stash option at #34. Ideally this player then would come over in 2019 when we don't have our first rounder. Otherwise we just have too much rookies/young players.
Even before this draft we have Willie, PapaG, Skal, Richardson, Bogdanovic, Hield. Joerger also wants to bring Mclemore back. That's 4 offensive wings. And there could be coming 3-4 more rookies.

That's also why of course we could use one of the young players to move up. If you feel that at #6 Fox is an all star but at #8 Smith/Ntilikina are not I would of course package #8 + Richardson.

Besides, they play Melo a ton at PF these days anyway and move Porzingod to the 5. So whether Melo is there or not won't take them off a SF if they like someone

I wouldn't be surprised if they do another trade-down....I'm not sure what would be stupid as its sort of a wide open canvas. No player on the team is untouchable either. I'd hope they have a clear sense of who they want though with plans B, C, D, E and F in place as well. I'd like them to resign Lawson too.

Problem with package-trade is the trading partnered team would need to actually want the player the Kings are sending. And although no player is untradeable for the Kings (as we found out with Cousins), keeping team cohesion is important. They don't have a core yet, but trading players off too often will make sure they don't. Maybe #8 + Richardson sounds reasonable to you, but the Knicks, who may draft Fox may not think so (for example).

Of course, you're completely right on that. But if the Knicks like Ntilikina/Smith better than Fox anyway because of the fit with the triangle, why would they not try to get an additional asset? But you're right, it's all just hypothetical at this point. I'm just speculating one what could happen during draft night.

That's a good point I didn't consider so far. If Divac stays true to his course, then it would make a trade down scenario more likely IMO. That's because guys that are ranked lower, f.e. Evans or Collins, will probably work out for us because they can improve their stock. Other players like Smith may be more hesistant and Divac then would pass them up.

I'm all onboard with trading down after the 20/20 hindsight of last years trade. The big unknown is Joerger and juggling playing times. I would've been way down on PapaG but thanks to the situation and really the trade of Cousins, we got to see his improvement on court as well as Skal and WCS. I recall on last years draft, I was quite displeased but realized the writing was on the wall - the Cousins trade was the elephant in the room. It could've been also that the PapaG pick was a safety valve type pick too. Anyway, the nice thing this year is with 2 picks, the Kings can target one of the positions and still trade down the other pick - in effect do both. I would've really really liked if they were at 6 and 10 but oh well.

I would rather take Collins than anyone else at #10. I know we have a bunch of bigs, but a shot-blocking and sweet shooting 7 footer at 19 years old? Sign me up! He may be more raw, but there is a lot of unlocked potential there. I would love Fox at 8 if he's there, but realistically he won't be, someone will gamble that they can fix his shot. Ntilikina would be a solid choice, but he's the guy I know least about and that always makes me nervous. I am actually relatively high on Smith compared to many of you here because he has star talent, potentially be one of the leading league scorers type of talent and that's something that would be hard to pass up on. We are the Kings and what we need is talent. His shortcomings (defense especially) you would hope to correct with proper coaching and proper vet leadership. We finally have a good coaching stuff that is surprisingly good at teaching young players so I would feel confident there. A lot of our vets are leaving, so that is a question mark, but I am confident we can bring someone in.

The only way I wouldn't consider Smith is if there are more to his injuries than what is reported and if he comes off as an a**hole during interviews and workouts. Smith and Buddy would be a great backcourt.

I want no part of Markannen. He's the type of player that can only play on a certain type of team and it ain't this one! He needs someone that can break down defenses and kick out and that's not really us. Also, he won't be able to defend at all in the NBA, at least not initially.

My preference for draft night is Smith/Collins, with Isaac or Ntilikina as secondary choices. I just think you have to go with the highest talent level you can get, and Smith is right up there. He's going to be one hell of a scorer. He reminds me of Damian Lillard a lot and Lillard seems to be doing alright for himself!