Lakers and Kings Dictate 2017 NBA Draft Of Philadelphia 76ers

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May 17, 2016; New York, NY, USA; Sacramento Kings center Willie Cauley-Stein represents his team during the NBA draft lottery at New York Hilton Midtown. The Philadelphia 76ers received the first overall pick in the 2016 draft. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports /

Kingside Draft

The Sacramento Kings had no problems scoring, and by all rights had a very good starting five lineup. But that same offensive lineup was the worst in the NBA at defense.

And so, the Sacramento Kings entered the 2016 NBA realizing they would need defensive help, and that they would not be re-signing point guard Rajon Rondo,

They approached the draft willing to deal, and deal they did. The Kings selected power forward Marquisse Chriss with the eighth pick of the 2016 NBA draft, and immediately traded the pick to the Phoenix Suns for forward/guard Bogdan Bogdanovic (not to be confused with Brooklyn Nets Bojan Bogdanovic), center Georgios Papagiannis (selected 13th) ,power forward/center Skal Labissiere, and a future 2nd round pick.

The Kings also traded for shooting guard Malachi Richards (selected 22nd) by shipping Marco Bellinelli to the Charlotte Hornets.

The Kings have begun to build the team around center DeMarcus Cousins, and the draft has given them pieces to do so.

The team played small, leaving Cousins in the post to bang bodies and score points. With the team adding Papagiannis and Labissiere, they are committing to giving Cousins some help at the rim.

While Papgiannis will need time to evolve into an NBA post player physically, he already boasts a mid range shot and a nice touch at the rim. Labissiere, conversely, has rim protection qualities and a nice face up shot, but he’s raw in basketball knowledge, and tends to find early foul trouble.

The team lost a solid bench performer in the trade to the Charlotte Hornets, as shooting guard Marco Belinelli came off the bench 68 times for the Kings and contributed 10.2 points per game on an average of 24.6 minutes per appearance. with his departure, and the loss of Rondo’s 11.9 points per game, the team loses 22.1 points of offense.

Some of that will be made up by the addition of Richardson, a true freshman emerging into the NBA with gorgeous shooting motion and a nice wing span. However, Richardson is young and raw, and will likely be eased onto the basketball court as he improves and earns playing minutes.

Next: Kingside Free Agency