Three Kings Draft Targets After Reports of Trading into “20s”

1. Adou Thiero, Arkansas 

Thiero is the first player on the list, half because of his awesome fit with Sacramento, and half because he’s already been in Sacramento for a workout. Adou measured at 6’6 ¼”, weighed in at 218.4 pounds, and had a 7-foot wingspan at the NBA Draft Combine.

Thiero is incredibly disruptive on the defensive end, where he posted 2.3 stocks (steals + blocks) per game last season under John Calipari. Adou was also second in the SEC in field goal percentage and posted the 4th best player efficiency in the conference according to sports-reference.com. Thiero may not be the biggest guy height-wise, but his athleticism and length led to him being in the top 50 in dunks in the NCAA despite missing time due to injury.

Adou will need to work on his outside shot and offensive repertoire as a whole to reach his full potential, but he already has enough tools to earn minutes at the next level right away. The best comparison for Thiero feels like a jumbo Gary Payton Jr. or Josh Hart, someone who impacts the game without needing to take a lot of threes or shots in general. 

2. Nique Clifford, Colorado State

Nique Clifford has a similar profile to Thiero, height and weight-wise, but Thiero’s wingspan pushes him more to the forward spot, while Clifford is looked at as a big guard. Clifford also brings a lot of the same defensive skills as Thiero, but his offense is what makes him a higher-ranked prospect than Thiero.

Clifford averaged almost 19 points per game while shooting nearly 38% from deep on about 5 attempts per game. Pair that excellent shooting with Clifford’s defense and incredible positional rebounding (8.1 per game), and you have an idea profile for the modern game.

Clifford was second in the entire NCAA in defensive rebounds as a guard with only a 6’8” wingspan. If that doesn’t also scream Josh Hart, I don’t know what does. Clifford’s ridiculous metrics continue as he was also 5th in the NCAA in defensive win shares. Clifford is someone who is already set to jump in day one and play 20+ minutes if needed; that is exactly the type of guy the Kings should be doing everything in their power to get.

3. Jase Richardson

I have previously written about how Jase Richardson would be worth taking a chance on as the franchise’s next lead guard after moving De’Aaron Fox earlier this season. Richardson’s height measurement came out a little lower than expected at just 6’1” without shoes, but he has a ton of other tools that help make up for that.

Richardson didn’t start the whole season, but he had enough minutes to put some major value on his shooting (50% from the field and 41% from deep). Beyond his shooting, Jase was really great at attacking and using his body control to score around the basket despite being one of the smaller players on the court.

Richardson wasn’t the best point of attack defender last season, but his off-ball instincts are something that would be very valuable for a Sacramento team that definitely lacked focus in that department. Richardson just “gets the game and even has shades of De’Aaron Fox in his game, which should excite King’s fans if they do end up selecting him. 

Keep your eyes out for any news as the NBA draft is less than two weeks away and the Kings could very well find themselves with a pick after all.