The Sacramento Kings have spent plenty of draft nights second-guessing themselves, and a new 2017 redraft only adds to the what-if pile.
Bleacher Report revisited that class on Thursday and had Sacramento taking a very different path at No. 5 and No. 10.
Instead of De’Aaron Fox, the Kings were slotted with OG Anunoby at No. 5.
At No. 10, where the Kings originally took Gonzaga big man Zach Collins, the redraft gave them Josh Hart.
That kind of outcome would have changed the franchise’s direction in a major way. Anunoby would have brought floor spacing and elite perimeter defense, while Hart has grown into one of the league’s most unusual role players, thanks to his rebounding and ability to handle multiple jobs on the floor.
The fit gets even more intriguing when you stack it next to what Sacramento already knew at the time. Former Kings vice president of basketball operations and general manager Vlade Divac said in late April on Byron Scott’s Fast Break that the team had Luka Dončić “at the top” of its board a year before he was drafted.
“All of my assistants told me that he can play small forward, and I said no, no, Luka is a point guard. Luka is a coach on the floor,” Divac said."
And I felt that if I get Luka, I would have to trade De’Aaron Fox, and I already got a relationship with Fox, and I see he’s a perfect fit for us, a small market team, and Luka was a big market player. If I get Luka, then down the road, I may lose him."
That decision looms even larger in hindsight. Fox, the No. 5 pick in 2017, changed Sacramento and helped get the Kings back to the playoffs, but the sides never landed on a long-term deal.
Bleacher Report’s alternate version would have put Anunoby and Hart in Sacramento, a pairing that already worked at the highest level as two starters on the Knicks’ NBA Championship squad. And if the Kings had gone that route, the follow-up possibilities get even louder, with Dončić still waiting the next year as a potential franchise-altering prize.
For a team that has already had to live with draft misses like Marvin Bagley III over Luka Dončić and Marrquese Chriss over Domantas Sabonis in 2016, the 2017 redraft is another reminder of how much one night can shape everything that follows.
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Alex Karaban Could Push Into The Kings Rotation Faster Than Expected
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Ben Simmons Puts The Kings In A Very Different Kind Of Bet
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Simmons now needs an environment that can steady him and give him room to get back on track, and Sacramento will be judged on how well it handles that responsibility. The larger gamble is obvious: if the Kings can help him feel like himself again, they may get a valuable piece for a return to the NBA stage, but the injury side of the equation still hangs over everything. [Read more 🡒]