Sacramento Kings: Players the Kings Could Draft

Scenario #1, The 8th Pick, Prospect #1

Mandatory Credit: Casey Sapio-USA TODAY Sports

If no deal is done on or before draft night, the Kings will be on the clock at pick number eight and will have several quality players to choose from. With a core of Isaiah Thomas, Ben McLemore, Rudy Gay and DeMarcus Cousins, power forward is the most pressing need on the roster.

As of right now, I expect Noah Vonleh (Indiana) to go 5th to Utah and Julius Randle (Kentucky) to go seventh to the Lakers, or vice versa. They have separated themselves as the two best power forwards in the nation, and if the Kings draft to fill a need, that would leave Aaron Gordon from Arizona as the next best power forward available.

In years past, Gordon would be considered a tweener because of his 6”8”, 220 lb. frame but in this new era of basketball where stretch 4’s are becoming increasingly more common and because of the shape of the Kings current roster, Gordon would spend most of his time playing power forward.

To start, Gordon is an outstanding athlete that can jump out of the gym and is extremely effective in transition. A few other highlights of Gordon’s game are his non-stop motor and defensive intensity, which when combined with his quickness make him as tough to stop in transition as he is. Gordon does most of his damage on the glass and at the rim, bringing down eight rebounds per game, with an impressive 2.7 of them coming on the offensive end.

Depending on his matchup, he may have to guard small forwards instead of power forwards but his agility won’t make him a liability if that were to happen. On offense, he will need to significantly improve his jump shot if he is going to have success as a new school stretch 4. Gordon knocked down just 29.3 percent of his jumpers during his freshman year at Arizona and shot a dreadful 42.2 percent from the free throw line.

His play style and size are very similar to Shawn Marion, and Gordon would be smart to model his game after Marion’s, considering Marion is currently at 15 years in the league and counting. It’s no secret that Marion has perhaps the ugliest shot in the entire league, but he was dedicated to his craft and has been a very respectable scorer in the NBA for some time now. While a Shawn Marion type career is a lofty expectation, if Gordon can commit to adding a jump shot to his arsenal, he should have no problem turning out a respectable career for himself.