Is Willie Cauley-Stein an Option for the Kings?
ESPN’s Chad Ford recently released his updated NBA mock draft (ESPN Insider required), and to the surprise of what I imagine is very few people, there are a lot of Kentucky Wildcats being selected in the first round. With the first overall pick, the Minnesota Timberwolves are predicted to select Karl-Anthony Townes. Five picks later, the Sacramento Kings are expected to take Townes’ teammate.
With the sixth overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, the Kings select Willie Cauley-Stein. At least, that’s what Ford is predicting.
Cauley-Stein is an extremely intriguing prospect. His measurables are off the charts, as he stands at an even seven-feet tall, and weighs in around 240 pounds. His standing vertical reach is nine-feet, two-inches. He has a 31-inch vertical leap standing still, and reached 37 inches with a head start.
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He runs the court with the ease of a point guard, despite being a foot taller than most at that position. He’s faster than anyone the NBA has seen at his size, and moves so quickly and fluidly, you’d think he really was a point guard.
Offensively, he’s very raw. He won’t score a ton of points, and won’t create offense for himself. Over his college career, he shot 50.8 percent from the free-throw line, a typical number for a big man. In his first two years, that number was all the way down at 42.6 percent. He did improve in his junior year, raising that total to 61.7 percent. In the NBA, getting 10 points a game out of Cauley-Stein would probably make for a great season.
But on the other side of the ball, on defense, Cauley-Stein is an absolute game-changer. He can guard all five positions on the court, as his quickness allows him to stick guards, and his length allow him to protect the rim. His resumé speaks for itself.
In the 2014-2015 season, his junior year, Cauley-Stein was a Consensus All-American, the NABC Defensive Player of the Year, the SEC Defensive Player of the Year, and First-Team All-SEC. In his freshman year, he was part of the SEC All-Freshman team, and was named to the SEC All-Defensive team in both 2014 and 2015.
In 105 games at Kentucky, Cauley-Stein averaged eight points per game, 6.2 rebounds, 1.7 blocks, and 1.2 steals. Looking at his per-40 minute totals, his averages rise to 10.2 rebounds, 3.6 blocks, and 1.8 steals per contest.
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In the 2013-2014 season, his sophomore season, Cauley-Stein blocked 106 shots for the Wildcats. His next closest teammate, Julius Randle, totaled just 31.
Coming out of college, Cauley-Stein’s closest comparison seems to be Joakim Noah, currently of the Chicago Bulls. Noah is a defensive wizard, having won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award in 2014, but isn’t exactly a force on offense. His best offensive output came in the 2013-2014 campaign, when he averaged 12.6 PPG. As it looks now, that would seem to be Cauley-Stein’s ceiling as well. Noah can guard a lot of different positions, and when he’s on the floor, the Bulls’ defense is much better as a result.
The Kings already have a dominating force at center, as DeMarcus Cousins has emerged an one of the best big men in the game. In 2014-2015, Cousins’ first season as an All-Star, he averaged 24.1 points (fifth in the NBA), 12.7 rebounds (third), and 1.7 blocks (11th). To go along with that, Cousins also posted 3.6 assists (third in the NBA among centers) and 1.5 steals.
If the Kings did decide to take Cauley-Stein, they could create a real dynamic duo in the Kings’ frontcourt. Cauley-Stein could potentially move to power forward, allowing Cousins to continue to control the rim, or vice versa. Cauley-Stein could guard the team’s better scorer, either at center and power forward, and allow Cousins to guard underneath.
Cousins also missed a lot of time this past season, as he was absent for 23 games due to a variety of ailments. If Cousins were to continue to experience those injury, or sickness, troubles (knock on wood), Cauley-Stein could slide in to take his spot. While the team would be losing a lot of scoring, that could be made up for by Cauley-Stein’s defensive prowess.
The Kings have a solid trio, as Cousins, Rudy Gay, and Darren Collison all proved to be solid players. With other players continuing to develop, like Ben McLemore and Ray McCallum, the Kings seem to be trending in the right direction.
While Cauley-Stein won’t change a game with his offense, his defensive abilities can not be understated. A starting five consisting of Cousins, Gay, McLemore, Collison, and Cauley-Stein has a pretty nice look to it. If the seven-foot freak of nature is still available to the Kings on draft day, they would be wise to pick Cauley-Stein.