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<\/a><\/p>\nDybantsa however solidified himself in my mind as the best prospect in the draft.\u00a0 At 6\u20199 and 210 lbs, Dybantsa has excellent size for a wing in the modern NBA.\u00a0 While his outside shot and defense need work, his feel as a scorer both attacking the rim and getting to the midrange are undeniable. Dybantsa averaged 25.5 points a game on 51% from the field, while also getting to the line 8.5 times a game.\u00a0 Dybantsa also played de facto Point Guard at times, often bringing the ball up and initiating the offense.\u00a0 While I think some other NBA prospects on this list might look better in the NBA early on, I think Dybantsa has the greatest upside of anyone else in this draft, with an already solid floor to begin with.\u00a0 I\u2019m guessing he\u2019s the top prospect on most GM\u2019s boards, and I think he\u2019ll end up being the #1 overall pick.<\/p>\n
2. Darryn Peterson, SG, Kansas<\/p>\n
Darryn Peterson has been one of the more controversial prospects this year due to his multitude of injuries and questions about his commitment level.\u00a0 Kansas was also eliminated against St. John\u2019s in the second round with Peterson scoring 21 points but on just 5 of 15 shooting from the field.\u00a0 All that being said, I\u2019m not sure there\u2019s a better scorer in this draft, and I think that unless there\u2019s something glaringly bad in his medicals, he should be one of the top prospects on most teams boards.<\/p>\n
Peterson\u2019s statistics might not wow you (20.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.4 steals in 29 minutes a game on 43.8% from the field and 38.2% from three) but watching him play, it\u2019s unbelievable how smooth he is offensively.\u00a0 He has a similar vibe to me as Kawhi Leonard, in that he doesn\u2019t outwardly show a ton of emotion, and he almost looks bored at times with how easy things are for him.\u00a0 I don\u2019t think Peterson will ever be the fiery leader type, but he absolutely has it in him to be your team\u2019s best player, and if this year was him playing on just one healthy leg, I would hate to be the team that passes on him just to watch him get healthy and turn into a two-way monster.<\/p>\n
3. Cameron Boozer, PF, Duke<\/p>\n
Cameron Boozer is easily the most boring of the top prospects, but his talent is also undeniable.\u00a0 He isn\u2019t flashy but there\u2019s no arguing with the production or the results.\u00a0 Boozer wins, and has done so at every level so far in his career as the best player for his teams.\u00a0 That hasn\u2019t changed so far at Duke, where the Blue Devils are now 34-2, with their only losses of the season being a one point loss to Texas Tech and a three point loss to North Carolina.\u00a0 Boozer is the focal point of everything Duke does.\u00a0 He\u2019s their leading scorer (22.4 points on 56.3% from the field and 39.8% from three), leading rebounder (10.3 rebounds), and leading passer (4.2 assists).\u00a0 He\u2019s not a shot blocker (just 0.6 a game) but he\u2019s also second on the Blue Devils in steals at 1.5 a game, a great number for a big man.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve seen some fans and analyst be wary of Boozer because of past production from Duke guys that didn\u2019t pan out in the league like Mavin Bagley or Jahlil Okafor.\u00a0 Boozer is a far different player from both of those guys.\u00a0 He\u2019s more polished than Bagley, and more mobile than Okafor.\u00a0 He\u2019s a better playmaker than both of them, and while he\u2019s not a shotblocker, has good defensive instincts.\u00a0 If you were to compare him to any former Duke big man, Paolo Banchero would be a closer comparison, but Boozer has been better in every category than Banchero was in college. I do think Boozer would need to be built around a little more differently than some of these other guys, but I think any team drafting him will end up with a #1 option they can rely on.<\/p>\n
Tier 2 \u2013 Happy as long as we didn\u2019t pass on one of the above guys<\/p>\n
4. Darius Acuff Jr., PG, Arkansas<\/p>\n
Acuff has been the biggest riser in both my personal draft board and probably most people\u2019s draft boards over the last month.\u00a0 This draft has several excellent Point Guard prospects, but in my mind, Acuff has emerged at the top as a guy that I feel can be one of the best Point Guards in the league, in the same vein that Damian Lillard once was.\u00a0 Acuff was both the leading scorer (23.3 points on 48.6% from the field and 44.6% from three) and passer (6.5 points) in the SEC this year, and he\u2019s been showing both talents off so far in the tourney, with a 36 point game against High Point, including the dagger three that basically sealed the game.\u00a0 By far the highlight of his season was a 49 point performance against Alabama in which he played all 50 minutes of an overtime game. It was an NCAA record for points scored by a Freshman in a Division I game.<\/p>\n
Now, Acuff has serious deficiencies as a defender (just look at how 5\u201910 High Point guard Rob Martin blew by him routinely en route to his own 30 point game), but he\u2019s so good on the other end I\u2019m almost willing to forgive that.\u00a0 That\u2019s also something that could improve with time, but even if it doesn\u2019t, if his offense is this good, you can find pieces to put around him that will mitigate those problems a lot easier than you could find this level of scoring and shooting.\u00a0 I think this Kings team really needs an Alpha, and Acuff would bring that mentality from Day 1.<\/p>\n
5. Caleb Wilson, PF, North Carolina<\/p>\n
Wilson unfortunately broke his hand in early February and had his season cut shot, but before that he was showing that he was one of the most impactful players in the country, averaging 19.8 points on 57.8% from the field, 9.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.4 blocks in 31.3 minutes per game.\u00a0 One of his final games of the season was in that North Carolina upset win over rival Duke and Cameron Boozer, and Wilson looked like the better player in that game, scoring 23 points on 8 of 12 from the field.<\/p>\n
Wilson might be the best two-way player in the draft, as the only other prospect in the draft that averages at least 19 points and 1.4 steals and blocks is Junior JT Toppin from Texas Tech (who also unfortunately had his season cut short due to injury).\u00a0 I can see a case for Wilson as having higher upside than someone like Boozer thanks to his athleticism and defensive chops, but he also has a lot more work to do on the offensive end of the ball in my opinion.\u00a0 Wilson hasn\u2019t shown much consistency as an outside shooter yet, shooting just 25.9% from three on 1.1 attempts a game and shooting just 71.3% from the free throw line as well.\u00a0 He\u2019s incredibly efficient around the basket (his 67 dunks led the ACC despite missing the entire last month and a half) but he\u2019ll need to be able to expand his range to be more effective on that end of the court. He\u2019s still incredibly young, so he can definitely do it, but I do think he is more in the vein of a complementary piece than an outright star.<\/p>\n
Tier 3 \u2013 Ok, Fine<\/p>\n
6. Kingston Flemings, PG, Houston<\/p>\n
Many people have Flemings rated as the best Point Guard in the draft, and it\u2019s easy to see why.\u00a0 As the lead guard for Houston, Flemings has led the Cougars to a 30-6 record and a #2 seed. He\u2019s leading the team in scoring (16.2 points on 47.8% from the field and 38.8% from three), passing (5.2 assists) and steals (1.6 steals).\u00a0 Watching Flemings play, it\u2019s hard not to make comparisons to the last great Kings Point Guard, De\u2019Aaron Fox.\u00a0 Flemings is also incredibly quick, favors the midrange, and brings it on the defensive side of the ball.<\/p>\n
Flemings has had huge games in college this season, including a 42 point performance against Texas Tech, but he\u2019s also had games in which he\u2019s disappeared or not been nearly as impactful.\u00a0 Flemings has eight games this season where he\u2019s scored in just single digits.\u00a0 Everyone above him on this list had zero such games.\u00a0 While I do think Flemings has the makings of an excellent two-way guard, can he be consistent enough to be the type of star that the Kings need?<\/p>\n
7. Mikel Brown Jr., PG, Louisville<\/p>\n
Brown rounds out the list of the top point guards in the lottery, and I do think that if the Kings had their choice on position they\u2019d most like to fix long term, it\u2019d be at Point Guard.\u00a0 However, Brown is the one I\u2019d be least excited to take.<\/p>\n
Brown had an excellent college season for Louisville, averaging 18.2 points, 4.7 assists and 1.2 steals despite dealing with a back injury that caused him to miss several games this season.\u00a0 He\u2019s got phenomenal size for a PG at 6\u20195, but is pretty skinny for being that tall and hasn\u2019t showcased the same defensive effort as someone like Flemings has.\u00a0 He\u2019s a good scorer, but he\u2019s also incredibly streaky.\u00a0 He shoots the most threes of any freshman at 7.6 a game, but shot just 34.4% from three.\u00a0 That kind of volume and variance lead to games like against Southern Methodist, where he scored 29 points while shooting 7 of 10 from three, or like against their tourney ending loss to Clemson, where he scored just 5 points and shot 0-6 from distance.<\/p>\n
While he\u2019s a willing passer, Brown seems to me to be more a Point Guard in the same way that someone like Jordan Poole is a Point Guard, someone who is looking for his shot first and foremost, and isn\u2019t efficient enough to truly justify it. He\u2019d need a lot more consistency and discipline to truly become a franchise guy and I\u2019m not sure an unstructured environment like Sacramento is going to encourage his best habits and development.<\/p>\n
8. Keaton Wagler, SG, Illinois<\/p>\n
I\u2019m a sucker for shooters, and Wagler profiles as one of the better shooters in this draft, averaging 17.8 points a game while shooting 45% from the field and 40.8% from three on 5.8 attempts a game. He\u2019s not a one dimensional player either, as he\u2019s a very solid playmaker in his own right, averaging 4.4 assists to just 1.8 turnovers a game.\u00a0 Wagler to me projects the least of any of these guys to be a star however, and that\u2019s what the Kings need the most.\u00a0 He seems like a souped up version of Kevin Huerter, and that\u2019s someone who can be a very good player, but the Kings would likely still be searching for a lead guy.\u00a0 At this point in the draft, star power is much more of a gamble however, and this team desperately needs more shooting that Wagler can provide in spades.<\/p>\n
***<\/p>\n
After that are a bunch of guys that I haven\u2019t spent nearly as much time watching aside from just looking at their stats. To be honest, I really don\u2019t want to have to think about anyone outside of the first two tiers on this list after the season we just had. If the time comes for the draft and we do have to be considering players that aren\u2019t on this list, we\u2019re in trouble.\u00a0 The Kings really need a star, and their best chance at finding one will come this June, lottery gods willing.<\/p>\n
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