What is your teams best case scenario that will have you doing cartwheels in your living room?
What is your teams worst nightmare, that will have you screaming like you have met Freddy Krueger for the last two weeks?
We will start with the easy one and the most positive scenario... power of positivity and all of that. So if you could draft ANYONE who could realistically be there with your pick/pick, who would you pick and why? This is for the first, and second round, so do your research peeps and come real! I want to hear from all of you NBA fans!
My favorite team is the Sacramento Kings. I have lived through all the ups and downs since they came to Sacramento. I remember most of all the seasons here. The first couple were kind of a blue, and I still was mostly a football fan then too plus young!
I have been through the best of times and the worst of times with this team. I cussed like a sailor when we traded Cousins and while I understand why we did it and I embrace the Youth Movement now I still think we didn't get enough for him. What is my dream scenario? Well I am glad you asked. Here we GO!
Pick 5- Both Josh Jackson, and De'Aaron Fox are there for us to choose from and the Kings take either of these guys. Fox scares me because of his shooting woes, and his VERY skinny frame, especially those chicken legs. Meanwhile Josh Jackson seems to be a bit reckless with a bit of a 'tude. Like why wouldn't he work out for the Celtics, unless they promised to draft him? At this point go with the best fit for your team, the player you think fits in the best and I would be fine with either. Both are tremendous defenders and have a chance to be very special at the next level. Draft Express still has Josh Jackson as the third best prospect in the entire class. If both are there, I would probably gamble and get him because there is still a chance at ten that three potential pg's will be there in Frank Ntilikina, Donovan Mitchell, and Dennis Smith. Right now Draft Express which has traditionally been very accurate has Smith at 9, Mitchell at 12, and Ntilikina at 15, which is shocking to me. He has been at 7-11 for most of the process on the site. Meanwhile at SF, if Jonathan Isaac is gone at ten there is probably no one we aren't reaching for if we go pg first.
The prospects are Justin Jackson (currently 14th) or OG Anunoby. (currently 20th probably due to his injury status obviously) So if both are there, (at the five) and I am hoping that is the case, I would probably go with Josh Jackson and then take the best pg at 10. I would probably prefer that to be Dennis Smith to be honest. He is the most pure pg. Both Ntilikina and Donovan Mitchell are more SG's and this includes Monk if he slides to ten too. We don't really need a SG. We need SF, and PG. At ten things could get very dicey. If SF has had the well dried up, we either reach for an SF because I don't think there is any way in hell that Issac is there. Honestly if both Jackson and Fox are gone I'd probably prefer Isaac to Smith for the reasons above. We probably should go SF first.
Pick 1.5 Dream Scenario- Isaac, Fox, and Josh Jackson are all there, and we pick Josh Jackson.
Pick 1.10 Dream Scenario- Dennis Smith, Ntilikina, and Donovan Mitchell are all on the board, and we pick Smith. While his defense might not be up to par, and he takes plays off that isn't going to work on this team. If he wants to he can be elite on defense and we have the right coach that isn't going to let that fly especially if he is a starter when it matters. This year doesn't matter, it is a rebuilding year but down the road? Next year hopefully and going forward if he wants to be more than a sixth man he had better pick up the D. Offensively? This kid is special and is the most pure pg. Ntikina could easily end up better then him, and so could Mitchell but right now Dennis Smith would own both of them overall just based on pure talent. So my pick is obviously PG Dennis Smith
Pick 34 in round 2 Dream Scenario- Swanigan, Jordan Bell, Dillon Brooks, Jawun Evans, Frank Mason, and Frank Jackson are all there then I would have a tough decision as I play the Kings GM. If I picked SF first, I would probably be looking at SF first, and if I picked pg first I would probably be looking at Sf first to solidify the position, since both spots are bare. In that case Jordan Bell if the best defensive SF, and Dillon Brooks is the best offensive option. I would probably go with Bell to be honest. But either would be able to fill a role. However if we need pg more I LOVE Frank Jackson, but he is ranked the lowest. We have had him in twice, so I have a feeling he might be the pick. Jawun Evans though is ranked 28th or 29th even though he is listed much lower, similar to Swanigan who I really covet. Our big man depth is nice, but Swanigan is a monster rebounder, is supposedly a very good three point shooter, and in his workout he had one of the players (I believe it was Frank Jackson raving about him. ) I wish we had two second round picks, heck even three. Especially if all of these guys are there. I guess it comes down to if we settled. If we end up with Josh Jackson, and Smith I am feeling really good and I would go with Swanigan and probably be smoking my first cigar in celebration of a fantastic night. If we settled at 5, and 10, since the other teams swooped up on our coveted players, I would probably go with either Evans, or Bell. However I am on the clock and at Gunpoint, and I prefer Swanigan. He is the most talented of all the guys, and he could end up being a beast.
Now comes the harder part, but of course I have covered pretty much all the scenarios. So I am not going to write as much, plus it is is 12:47 AM my time, so I am tired too.
Nightmare scenario at 1.5- Josh Jackson is gone, Fox is gone. Now we are deciding between Ball who wants to Go to LA and won't resign with us, (there is a chance he falls if LA doesn't pick him) Tatum who I believe is going to be the pick for the Celtics, since Jackson didn't work out with them. However this is nightmare situation time, so in this case he is available, and Isaac who I love for his potential. I think Tatum has the lowest ceiling of all the top five prospects. He may be Rudy Gay all over again. Ball would be fun but when FA comes can we resign him? Is Isaac going to be a difference maker offensively? I would probably go with Issac again, since PG is deeper in this class as I mentioned earlier regarding the tenth pick. It is even deeper in the second round too.
Who is my nightmare pick at 1.5: Isaac. I love the kid, so it wouldn't be so bad. He can play 3, 4, and even some small ball five. He can also cover some two guards if need be. It just would suck seeing Tatum who I like the least of all the top 5 there, and no Jackson or Foxy. So we get what I feel is the worst player with the lowest ceiling at five. I am HUGE on Isaac, and if he was there at 10, I would run to the podium to make my pick, I might not even wait for the commissioner to announce it.
What is my nightmare scenario at 1.10? The well is already dry, and we have guys like LAURI MARKKANEN,Malik Monk, Zach Collins, John Collins, Luke Kennard, or out of position guys like Mitchell, and Ntilikina to choose from. I think Monk, and Lauri are too one dimensional, as is Kennard, plus they don't offer anything but shooting, and they do from positions that we are already strong at. Josh Collins was the most productive player in all of basketball last season, and we had him in Sacramento twice. That scares the crap out of me. I would much rather have Zach Collins, at least he can shoot it, and probably is going to be a better defender, and is probably more athletic too. I wouldn't hate on Zach if we pick him. The Kings saw him up close and personal and supposedly he shot the ball WAY better from three than anyone thought he could in a small sample size in college, and posted up very well too. The thing is I think he is duplication, aside from his three point shooting. We already have three bigs to try and groom. Do we really need four? Especially another with such a high pick? Then there is Justin Jackson or OG, OG is hurt, and will he even play in 2017? Supposedly he is the chance to be among the best ever defensively at SF but if he can't develop and is damaged goods going forward I can't see using the tenth pick. We need a starter there. As for Jackson, is he a starter in the NBA? I dunno he improved every year in college and made himself into an elite three point shooter. He also won a Championship but I dunno I am kinda meh on him at 10. Would I rather have him then others? If we need an SF yeah maybe. If we go Fox, or Smith yeah maybe. I just see him as a playoffs teams missing piece 3 and D guy, or roleplayer. We need a solid starter, and possible eventual All Star at 10.
That leaves Mitchell or Ntilikina. I would pick Ntilikina. He is two years younger. He is taller and he is also longer. Supposedly he measured with a plus 7 foot wingspan at pg and if I am not mistaken would have the longest wingspan ever recorded at pg. That gives him a chance to be ELITE defensively. He also is a competitor. He could have worked out for NBA teams but chose not to to try and bring his team back from the brink of elimination instead. He did this against the advice of his agent, his teammates, and probably his best interests as well. He could have and should have been picked much earlier. He is currently ranked 9th overall by Draft Express but may slip since few have seen him unless they scouted him overseas. He may also be gone. There are supposedly two teams that like the Kings have scouted him overseas and covet him. I just worry can he play PG? We need a starting PG. Of course this upcoming season it is probably in our best interests to just play all of our young guys as much as possible. Summer league, training camp, preseason, regular season... you name it. We don't have our pick in 2019, so give the young guys as much run as you can, and then focus on the present and future and try to contend. I just don't want us reaching for a player who plays SG, or C. Hell maybe not even PF unless they are going to be a star, and totally destroyed in the workout and you know he is going to start over Trill, Buddy, or Skal.
My Nightmare pick at 1.10: Frank Ntilikina
My Nightmare situation at (2) 34: I promised shorter, and it is now 1:24 AM, so yeah all the guys, and I mentioned before are gone. What do I do? I pick SF/PF Devin Robinson out of Florida. He gives us something we don't have currently.
I thoroughly enjoyed writing this article. I hope you enjoy reading it and write your own. It doesn't have to be as long as my essay. Just comment, and have fun with it! Good luck with your teams draft as long as you aren't targeting my guys!!! (lol just kidding)