2023 NBA Draft Team Recap: Sacramento Kings
Perhaps no team was more surprising, or fun, during the 2022-2023 NBA season than the Sacramento Kings.
Many fans questioned the trade of Tyrese Haliburton for Domantas Sabonis - and considering how good Haliburton has looked those questions are probably still justified - but last season Sabonis and De’Aaron Fox showed just how explosive they can be as an offensive duo.
A successful regular season led to the third seed in the Western Conference playoffs where they met the Golden State Warriors and ultimately lost in seven games.
With a modest offseason that was headlined by a trade for Chris Duarte, re-signings of Harrison Barnes and Trey Lyles, and free agent acquisitions of Sasha Vezenkov and Alex Len, the Kings will be looking for internal growth to help them take the next step.
Without a first-round pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, the Kings will not be able to count on major contributions from a rookie like they got from Keegan Murray this past season. That does not mean they did not still bring in some intriguing talent that could ultimately play a role for this team in the long term, however.
First, they selected defensive minded-guard, Colby Jones, with the No. 34 overall pick. He is a 6-foot-6 junior that is coming off an extremely impressive season with the Xavier Musketeers where he averaged right at 15 points per game on 51% from the field and 38% from the 3-point line. The 21-year-old also averaged 4.4 assists and just under six rebounds per game which speaks to his all around ability to contribute on the basketball court.
His six-game performance this summer may speak to him needing more time to translate to the NBA before being ready to contribute for the Kings. In those six games, Jones shot just 43% from the field, 28% from the 3-point line and 42% from the free throw line while averaging less than two assists per game.
With the current roster, and barring injury, the Kings will not need rookie year contribution from Jones and should be able to be patient while allowing him to play major minutes with the Stockton Kings.
Should Jones show his defensive prowess will translate to the NBA and he is able to find a consistent shooting touch there is a path to minutes opening up with Malik Monk on an expiring deal and Davion Mitchell’s contract having a club option in 2024-2025.
With their second selection of the 2023 NBA Draft, the Kings went with even more experience with the No. 54 overall pick.
Jalen Slawson is a 23-year-old super senior out of Furman that has been uber productive over his final two seasons in college basketball. Heis a player who seemingly got better every year he was in college and capped his career off with a first-round upset of Virginia in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
His seven games of summer league were not necessarily something to write home about but he did show some nice passing chops with over two assists in less than 20 minutes per game. Much like with Jones, there doesn’t seem to be any need for the Kings to depend on Slawson in his rookie season which will give them ample patience to let him develop his game as the necessary pace.
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