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The popular skepticism regarding Willie Cauley-Stein and his potential value at pick No. 6 for the Sacramento Kings just baffles me. The majority of “winners and loser of the draft” articles, including this one from Rant Sports’ Seth Lassen, cite the Kings and/or DeMarcus Cousins as losers. The Kings lost by not drafting Emmanuel Mudiay, a purportedly better prospect, and Cousins lost because Cauley-Stein is supposedly redundant with him.
I’d like to shoot these arguments down.
First, the Cousins thing: have we all forgotten that Cousins himself wanted the Kings to take Cauley-Stein? Why would Cousins ask for a player with whom he would clash?
That hasn’t stopped people from arguing that Cauley-Stein won’t fit, though. The most common refrain is that Cauley-Stein, an unskilled offensive player, will ruin things for Cousins on that end. I don’t buy this argument for a second; Cousins has basically played his entire career with mediocre power forwards, and his offense has been just fine. Jason Thompson was the Kings’ starting power forward this year! Do you really want to tell me Jason Thompson is some indispensable floor-spacing magician Cousins can’t do without? Because he isn’t. Thompson’s a guy that can hit an open 15-footer, and that’s well within Cauley-Stein’s capability.
Defense is the key, though. Cousins is a high-usage guy on offense; he spends a ton of energy scoring the basketball and crashing the boards, so any bit of relief he gets on defense is crucial. Cauley-Stein, meanwhile, is renowned for his defensive versatility, and I don’t think it’s outrageous to say he’ll be able to defend every single power forward and center in the NBA. Whoever the most gruelling frontcourt check is, Cauley-Stein will take him. Cousins has never played with a great rim protector, or even a defensive specialist, so it’s no wonder he wanted Cauley-Stein on the team.
And no matter how Mudiay pans out in the NBA, he’d never have been the guy to save Sacramento’s defense. Point guards simply don’t have as great of an impact on that end.
So if you’re with me that Cauley-Stein could be as least as good as Jason Thompson on offense, you should be on board with this pick. Through all the chaos this year – three head coaches, Cousins losing time to viral meningitis, etc. – the Kings had the league’s 14th best offense. Cousins can score; Rudy Gay can score; one of Ben McLemore and Nik Stauskas should probably be able to score at some point.
It’s their 27th-ranked defense that is the biggest problem, and that’s why Cauley-Stein was the right pick at No. 6. Expect them to challenge for a playoff spot in the West next year, and expect Cauley-Stein to be a big part of the turnaround.
Casey Sherman is the Toronto Raptors Beat Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @shermham
