An Upgrade At Center Is Necessary For Kings In Today's NBA
While the Sacramento Kings are trying to figure out who to pick with the sixth selection in the draft, the team may want to think about upgrading at a position which is already filled by an all-star.
DeMarcus Cousins is an incredible basketball player. He is easily the most dominating offensive-minded center in the league, but that may just be the reason why an upgrade at center could be a huge step forward for the team.
It's clear that an offensive-minded center in today's NBA isn't needed to win games.
If you look at every team in the playoffs this season, the Atlanta Hawks are the only team which doesn't have a true defense first type center. Al Horford is a decent defensive player, but he will never be considered a game changer on that side of the court.
There are only two players who are both the rule and exception in the league. Anthony Davis and Marc Gasol are just as good defensively as they are offensively, which is rare.
Cousins has made huge improvements on defense, but the center on a winning team needs to be the type of guy who keeps players from driving the lane.
Every time someone drives the lane, you want them thinking about the center protecting the rim.
As of right now, the Kings don't have that.
What's the solution?
Willie Cauley-Stein.
If the center out of Kentucky can drop to the sixth pick in the draft, he would be a perfect fit for Sacramento.
Not only would it give the Kings a defensive-minded center, but it would allow Cousins to move to the power forward position.
If Cousins does move to power forward, he could solely focus on offense.
He would still need to play good defense, but the need for him to be the guy plugging the lane wouldn't be his worry.
To win games in today's NBA, you need to keep players out of the lane; you don't necessarily need your center putting up 20 points per game.
The game is always changing and evolving. Take a look at the NBA 15-20 years ago. The league had centers like Shaquille O'Neal, Hakeem Olajuwon and David Robinson who could absolutely dominate offensively. They each played a big part in their teams' championships.
But those type of players aren't around in today's NBA.
Players like Andrew Bogut, DeAndre Jordan and Tyson Chandler are the type of centers who are winning games in the league today.
Cauley-Stein is a seven feet tall center whose primary duty in college was to block shots and keep players away from the hoop. With his size and length, he will have an immediate impact on the defensive side of the ball.
In his three years at Kentucky, Cauley-Stein swatted opposing players 233 times.
He's not the type of player a team is going to rely on to score points. He doesn't have the post skills or the scoring ability to put up big numbers on offense, but he wouldn't need to worry about that on the Kings.
It would be a two-headed monster with Cousins at power forward, and Cauley-Stein at center.
Cousins would continue to be a dominant force on offense, and the Kings would balance that with Cauley-Stein on defense.
Let's face it, the Kings haven't had a great first-round draft pick since the last time they drafted a center out of Kentucky. This could be their chance to draft yet another one to make an immediate impact.