Written by Carson Cook (Twitter/Instagram) 
Graphic by haliburtonszn

Tyrese Haliburton (The steal of the draft)

For the Kings they are in a tough situation, not only two years ago the Kings were projected to make a playoff run. Today, there is no direction with the team, with a new GM there may not even be an identity. The team does have building blocks in Marvin Bagley III and De’aaron Fox but no one else on the roster should be safe this offseason from being traded. In this draft it was expected that they would once again be left with an average player, this year that was not the case. The Kings were able to select a player that I projected to go number six to the Hawks. Tyrese Haliburton may be the perfect fit next to De’aaron Fox for the future. Listed as a point guard coming out of college Haliburton almost plays more like a modern day shooting guard. Haliburton is a 6’5 lethal shooter with defensive capabilities, who when asked can be the secondary ball handler for the Kings. With Haliburton the Kings are getting a player who according to Synergy, “ Ranks in the 99th percentile in spot-up shooting and in the 98th percentile in catch-and-shoot situations.” In college Haliburton was forced to be the primary point guard but with De’aaron Fox as the starting point guard Haliburton will be able to have his space and be able to get his shots up from day one. After the pick ESPN Insider Bobby Marks would say, “Sacramento has a steal here, this kid is going to be in the league for 15 years.” Whether the Kings trade Buddy Hield or Bogdan Bogdanvoic in this shortened off season they will have a 20 year old rookie from Iowa State who was in the 98th percentile of catch and shoot situations ready to play alongside Bagley and Fox.

Robert Woodward

Going into the second round the Sacramento Kings held three picks but instead of drafting at all three they traded up and drafted at 40 and 43. At 40 the Kings selected Robert Woodward via a trade with the Memphis Grizzlies. Robert Woodward the second year guard out of Mississippi State will bring an instant impact to the Kings offense. Woodward is a 6’7 guard who has the ability to hit the three pointer, catch bodies, and bring high energy to the Kings bench. In his freshman year of college he shot a poor 27.3% from the three ball however, in his sophomore year he increased that percentage to 42.9%. The Kings in recent years have been missing a piece off the bench, a player that can bring automatic energy and can still play on the defensive side of the ball. Woodward has shown the ability to improve and with NBA training and conditioning Woodward has the potential to bring exciting basketball off of the bench who reminds me a lot of a player the Kings already have, Kent Bazemore.

Jahmi’us Ramsey

The Kings next selection would be at 43, the Kings selected Jahmi’us Ramsey from Texas Tech. Ramsey is a 6’4 guard who can handle the ball and when asked can get a bucket with the clock winding down. In his freshman year at Texas Tech Ramsey was inconsistent with his free throw percentage, shooting 64.1% from the line but has shown improvement in his overall jumpshot. Although his free throw percentage was inconsistent Ramsey still shot a very respectable 42.6% from three and showed flashes of the ability to bring a sixth man type of scoring with his speed, athleticism, and pure scoring ability. By drafting Ramsey the Kings will have their sixth man of the future and their backup point guard for De’aaron Fox, once Cory Jospeh’s contract expires. Overall this is a pick for the future and he will be able to bring instant offense off of the bench within the next couple of years.