Kings Post-Lottery Mock Draft Roundup: Who's the Pick at No. 7?

Well… the NBA draft lottery didn’t go exactly as planned for the Sacramento Kings. They will be picking seventh, and while that’s still a high pick, it is not what the team and fans were hoping for. There are three (or four) potential stars at the top of the draft, and you’d be hard-pressed to find a team that needed a shot at one of them more than the Kings. 

Regardless of the result, there’s still a lot of talent that will be available to the Kings, and below is a roundup of who the latest, post-lottery mock drafts have landing in Sacramento.

The Athletic — Kingston Flemings

The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie released a new mock draft shortly after the lottery results and has the Kings taking Houston guard Kingston Flemings at seven.  Flemings will remind a ton of fans of De’Aaron Fox, explosive, poised, and with an affinity for the mid-range. Right away, Flemings’ speed will give the Kings a new dimension that they’ve been missing since they traded Fox.

 “You can see his burst every time he touches the court. He’s also an excellent decision-maker who improved defensively throughout the season.”

The negatives with Flemings come in the form of his finishing, ability to get to the line, and questionable scoring process. Flemings was effective from behind the line but did not take a lot of them, and that became more worrying as his efficiency dipped in conference play. With all that said, Flemings’ flaws are fixable, and he would immediately help the Kings on both ends.

ESPN — Kingston Flemings

Jeremy Woo and ESPN updated their mock draft soon after the lottery as well, and also have the Kings going home with Flemings. Woo points to Flemings’ jumpshot as the swing factor in his development and correctly mentions that there has been some improvement. 

Kingston shot nearly 39% from three and close to 85% from the line, with free throws being a strong indicator of a player’s shot translating to the NBA. 

Maybe the best part about Flemings, and something that GM Scott Perry would likely be a fan of, is his compete level. Flemings spent his freshman season leading one of the best teams in college in points, assists, and steals, and competing on defense. 

There is still work to be done defensively, but Kelvin Sampson demands a lot on the defensive side of the ball, and his trust in Flemings, plus the eye test, should tell you that he will be a positive. Flemings may not have the same offensive ceiling as some of the other guards, but he also might be the only one who improves Sacramento’s defense on day one. 

Yahoo Sports — Darius Acuff Jr.

Yahoo Sports and Kevin O’Connor deviate from the pack here and have Sacramento selecting Arkansas guard Darius Acuff Jr. at number seven. O’Connor shares my take with Acuff; you’ll need to surround him with plus defenders, but you have time to do so and can enjoy his offense in the meantime. Acuff Jr. led the SEC with 23.5 points and 6.2 assists per game while ending the season with a 60.4% true shooting percentage. 

“He is not the biggest guard or the most explosive athlete, but he reads defenses like someone who's been in the league for a decade.”

Acuff Jr. can score from anywhere on the floor, create shots for himself and others, and is even comfortable playing off-ball. Despite his high usage percentage, John Calipari often got him the ball coming off screens, in spot-up situations, and on handoffs to keep defenses honest, and he looked comfortable in every situation. 

READ: Kings Mock Draft Following the Lottery: Sacramento Finds New PG at No. 7

The major question mark will be his size and defense, one of which he can’t change. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that Acuff will be the worst defender drafted in the lottery, but comes as advertised offensively, it might not matter for Sacramento.

Bleacher Report — Kingston Flemings

For our last mock, we have Jonathan Wasserman and Bleacher Report, who also have the Kings taking, you guessed it, Kingston Flemings. With the Kings obviously needing a point guard, Flemings is going to continue to be a name tied to Sacramento. Since we have the time with him being a popular pick, let’s take a look at how Sacramento’s lineup would look next year with Kingston as a starter.

LaVine and DeRozan are still on the team as of now, and the same for Domantas Sabonis, all of which I imagine will be starters when the season starts. The best guess is that the Kings would roll out Flemings, LaVine, DeRozan, Keegan Murray, and Sabonis should they pick the Houston product. 

It might not be the most exciting lineup to look at on paper, but Flemings’ explosiveness would immediately make the Kings' offense more dynamic while likely improving their defense as well. Admittedly, he isn’t my favorite choice, but there’s a ton to like about Flemings in Sacramento.

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