Sacramento Kings: Players the Kings Could Draft

Scenario #3, The 16th or 17th Pick

Mar 22, 2014; Buffalo, NY, USA; Syracuse Orange guard Tyler Ennis (11) against the Dayton Flyers during the third round of the 2014 NCAA Tournament at First Niagara Center. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports

The last two scenarios would either be a swap of picks with Chicago to land the 16th pick plus Taj Gibson or a trade to land Boston’s 17th pick and either Kelly Olynyk, Jared Sullinger or if they could somehow pull it off or get a third team involved, Rajon Rondo.

A deal to land Rondo in the next few days is a long shot so running with the other two options, the Kings again would find themselves in need of a point guard.

Tyler Ennis, freshman out of Syracuse, had a knack for knocking down the big shot during his only year for the Orange. Being cool, calm and collected is the first plus to Ennis’ game. Ennis’ poise is what helped him lead all point guards in the NCAA with turnover rate of just 11.5 percent, or only 1.7 per game.

Ennis excels in a running the half-court offense and is a player that can be a floor general for whatever team that drafts him. Ennis’ 5.8 assists per game may seem like a low number, but when considering Syracuse’s slow-paced offense, the number isn’t so bad. What’s more important is the smart decision-making and overall efficiency, both of which are strengths of his.

Playing this type of smart basketball led to more scoring opportunities for both himself, but more importantly, his teammates. Ennis has tremendous court vision and is decisive in the open court, often finding the open man that leads to an easy basket.

Ennis is a fun player to watch because of his fluidity. His game is very smooth and he makes it look easy, which reminds me a lot of Tony Parker. Ennis has a quick, effective pull up jumper off of the pick and roll and in transition, very similar to Parker. He also is nearly identical in size to Parker and as already mentioned, Ennis can score in the clutch.

Neither player is an exceptional athlete and both are just decent defenders. Parker is far superior in the paint, however. Ennis struggled scoring at the rim and never found a consistent floater. Ennis needs to improve his first step burst to help get by the quicker defenders he will face in the NBA and he will need to add some muscle to help him finish at the rim against bigger defenders.

Don’t count on Ennis to be a major scoring threat, but his offensive game should continue to mature and if it does, somewhere around the neighborhood of 15 points per game and nine assists per game would be fantastic contribution from a non-lottery pick.