Sacramento Kings: Players the Kings Could Draft

Scenario #2, The 10th Pick

Mar 21, 2014; San Antonio, TX, USA; Louisiana Lafayette Ragin Cajuns guard Elfrid Payton (2) drives against Creighton Bluejays guard Grant Gibbs (10) in the first half of a men

In this proposed deal, the Kings move back just 2 spots and swap picks with the Philadelphia 76ers with Thaddeus Young added in to close the deal. This may seem like a lot to give up to move just 2 spots but there could be a player Philadelphia highly covets, and they also have been eager to trade Thaddeus. If acquired, Young would round out a respectable starting five for the Kings, and he also can play small forward if need be.

While it has been an admirable story going from pick #60 in the draft and projected backup to a solid starting point guard, Isaiah Thomas’ time with the Kings appears to be over. I’m a big fan of his game and what he brings to the Kings roster, but he is entering restricted free agency and could command a contract the Kings won’t be willing to match. That, and also consider that he has been offered in multiple deals since the trade deadline last season, such as deals for Eric Bledsoe and Rajon Rondo, just to name a couple.

If Thomas is on the way out via any of these scenarios, the Kings would be in the market for a point guard. Insert Elfrid Payton. The junior point guard out of La Lafayette has seen his stock skyrocket as of late thanks to an impressive combine and stellar private workouts. Some mock drafts have Payton going as high as pick seven to the Lakers.

Possessing ideal size for a point guard (6”3, 185 lbs.) Payton uses his size and athleticism to score effectively at the rim. Payton was clearly the best player on a weak team and because of that, he has high usage numbers (20.9 possessions per game, third amongst point guards) that drag down his efficiency ratings. It’s hard to put a lot of stock into this part of his game however because of how much he was asked to do for his team.

Payton also is a tremendous ball handler and is touted as having solid court vision. Although he has high usage numbers, Payton is billed as being unselfish, sometimes to a fault. He scored a lot of points for his team and if he wasn’t scoring himself, Payton was likely tallying an assist, creating a play for a teammate.

Another positive to Payton’s game is his 6’7” wingspan, which allows him to be disruptive on defense. Payton was able to average 2.3 steals per game and thanks to his long arms and 36” vertical, he also pulled down 6.3 rebounds per game.

The one big knock on Payton is his jump shot, having shot a dismal 25.3 percent from beyond the arc last season. In catch and shoot situations, it’s even worse at just 18.2 percent and although Payton excelled at getting to the free throw line, he only made 59 percent of his free throws once he got there.

For an NBA comparison, he is somewhat of a cross between Devin Harris and Rajon Rondo. Combine Rondo’s long arms, defensive ability, court vision and ugly jump shot with Harris’ ability to score at the rim and high usage tendencies.