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Vivek's Offseason To-Do List: The NBA Draft

Vivek Ranadivé is taking over a downtrodden NBA Franchise that needs a lot of fixing up and this summer will be crucial in laying a foundation for the future. The third among his priorities will by necessity be the NBA Draft.

By Aykis16
Jerry Lai-US PRESSWIRE

So far we've taken a look at two areas where the Kings will need complete overhauls: The Front Office and the Coaching Staff.

Now for some of the more fun stuff, as one of the first things that will occur under the new regime is the 2013 NBA Draft. The Kings have had a couple bad drafts in a row, something that lottery teams can ill afford to rack up. This year, the Kings have the 7th and 36th picks in what many experts are calling a weak draft. The way I see it, the Kings have a few decisions to make regarding their picks.

1. They could keep the pick and draft the best player available.

2. They could trade down in the draft for a later pick and acquire some other asset (another pick, a player, etc.) in the process.

3. They could outright trade the pick for a current player.

All three of these choices have merit. This is a weird draft in that there really isn't star power, but there seem to be a lot of solid players who could be in the NBA for a long time. Since we're just focusing on the draft itself today, let's only look at options 1 or 2 for now and because the second round is a bit of crapshoot, we'll focus on the first round.

Keep the Pick

There isn't really a clear cut consensus on the top players in this draft but there are a few that I heavily doubt will be available by the time the Kings pick at #7: Nerlens Noel, Otto Porter, Victor Oladipo and Ben McLemore. I'm not saying they will be gone for sure, just that this is my feeling. This still leaves many options for the Kings.

  • Anthony Bennett played Power Forward in College but would definitely be undersized in the NBA. He's very talented offensively but still needs to develop the other side of his game. His athleticism seems to suggest that he could make the leap to playing NBA Small Forward.
  • Alex Len, Cody Zeller and Gorgui Dieng would add size and defense to Sacramento's frontcourt.
  • Shabazz Muhammad had a rough year at UCLA but there is still some belief that he has the talent to become a star.
  • Trey Burke, C.J. McCollum and Michael-Carter Williams will likely be there if the new Kings front office believes that one of them is an upgrade to Isaiah Thomas. Burke and McCollum have reputations as scorers, while Carter-Williams is a big pass-first point guard with excellent defensive fundamentals.

Trade Down / Acquire Another 1st Round Pick

If the Kings opted to trade down in the draft and/or acquired another first round pick, they could add young depth to multiple areas.

  • Sergey Karasev is a lefty Russian Sharpshooter who can also handle and pass the ball. He reminds me of Hedo Turkoglu and is my favorite European prospect in the NBA draft.
  • Steven Adams is a big dude with good athleticism and lots of potential on the defensive side of the ball.
  • Glen Rice Jr. isn't as good of a player as his dad was but he's still very solid in all facets of the game and might be one of the more NBA ready players available.
  • Dennis Schroeder will probably end up going in the lottery and also might end up being the best Point Guard taken in this draft. Schroeder is German and has been playing oversees for a while now. He's very athletic, unselfish and a good shooter to boot. He could be in play at the #7 pick.
One option I didn't mention was the possibility of the Kings trading up in the draft. I don't foresee this occurring unless the Kings absolutely fall in love with someone that they know will not be there at 7. I'm also not sure what the Kings would give up in order to move up in the draft. I certainly wouldn't trade DeMarcus Cousins or Isaiah Thomas to move up a few spots.

It will be interesting to see how the new ownership group handles the draft as they won't officially take over the team until the beginning of June. The hunt for a new GM will likely take a little bit longer than that, and before we know it the draft will be here on June 27th. The current Kings front office will likely do most of the legwork in scouting the draft but it will be up to new management to make the final decision. This will be their first chance to put their stamp on the current roster, and the decision they make could foreshadow other decisions to come.

Coming Tomorrow: To Re-sign or not to Re-sign Tyreke Evans


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