Lowering Expectations with the Kings
Well, that was fun… at least for the Minnesota Timberwolves and Los Angeles Lakers. For the Sacramento Kings it was business as usual.
Then again, did you really think the Kings were going to get the #1 overall pick in the draft? Really?
If you thought they could pull it off then good for you. Blind faith is a great thing to have, but if you look at the recent history of the Kings in the NBA Draft Lottery then the best you could have wished for was what happened.
In a turn of events that nobody found particularly shocking, the Sacramento Kings will select with the 6th pick in the 2015 NBA Draft on June 25th.
If you look at the history of the Kings since 2007 (when they began this nearly decade long playoff drought) the team has never advanced past the spot they were originally slotted to have.
In 2007 they had the 10th worst record and they selected 10th.
In 2008 they had the 12th worst record and they selected 12th.
In 2009 they finished dead last but fell to the 4th overall pick.
In 2010 they had the 3rd worst record and they selected 5th.
In 2011 they had the 3rd worst record and they selected 7th until they traded down in the draft to select JIMMER FREDETTE! That still hurts to this day.
(By the way Klay Thompson was selected with the pick right after Jimmer in case you wanted to feel even worse about the pick. Moving on…)
In 2012 they had the 5th worst record and they selected 5th.
In 2013 they had the 6th worst record and they selected 7th.
In 2014 they had the 7th worst record and they selected 8th.
Now, coming around to this year the Kings had the 6th worst record and they received the 6th overall pick.
Not once has the team been fortunate and received a pick in the top three. Even when they had a 64.2% chance of getting a top three pick the draft gods rewarded the Kings with the 4th overall pick.
With that being said, you can't change any of this so you might as well enjoy it and let the debating and speculating begin.
At this point you know that the Kings aren't getting Jahlil Okafor or Karl-Anthony Towns. Unless some sort of major knee injury comes out both of them will go to Los Angeles and Minnesota. Still, that doesn't mean you can't get a player that could help a lot.
As of right now Draft Express has the Kings selecting Willie Cauley-Stein and NBADraft.net has the Kings taking Justice Winslow.
Nobody has any real idea at this point what any of the teams will so now is a great time to look up and study players like Winslow and Stein. Maybe one of them can be a solid piece beside Demarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay.
After all, Damian Lillard, Chris Kaman and Brandon Roy were all taken with the sixth overall pick and became an All-Star and Danilo Gallinari and Nerlens Noel have been solid NBA pieces. Maybe this can be the final piece that can lead the team making the playoff for the first time since 2006.
Actually… never mind. I'll see you again in 12 months when we rinse and repeat this entire process. Until then, enjoy the ride.
