2022 NBA draft watch: Tracking Sacramento Kings’ pre-draft workouts; latest news, notes
Preparing for the NBA draft is a long and arduous process for every NBA front office. That process is well underway at Kings headquarters, where general manager Monte McNair and his staff are working to evaluate more than 280 players who have declared for the draft.
Here you will find a running list of prospects the Kings are known to have brought in for pre-draft workouts. We’ll also include intel from the NBA draft combine in Chicago. This list will be updated in the weeks to come as sources provide new information leading up to the draft, which will be held June 23 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
The Kings have their own first-round pick and two second-round picks. Their position in the first round will be determined at the NBA draft lottery Tuesday in Chicago. The Kings struck gold in the NBA draft lottery Tuesday to land the No. 4 pick in the draft. They went into the lottery with a 32% chance of landing in the top four, a 19.7% chance of holding their pre-lottery position at No. 7 and a 34.1% chance of falling to No. 8.
Sacramento will also have the No. 37 pick and the No. 49 pick. That No. 49 pick has already lived a tough life after being passed around in a series of trades and pick swaps involving the Chicago Bulls, Detroit Pistons, San Antonio Spurs, Los Angeles Lakers and Washington Wizards.
The Kings will bring dozens of players to Sacramento for pre-draft workouts in the weeks leading up to the draft. They could end up scheduling visits with nearly 100 college and international prospects who will be flown in from around the world.
Here are the players who have worked out with the Kings so far, listed by name, position, height, weight and school.
May 10
Jaden Shackelford, guard, 6-3/200, Alabama
Averaged career highs of 16.6 points and 5.4 rebounds as a junior with the Crimson Tide, shooting 38.5% from the field and 35.1% from 3-point range while hitting 77.8% at the free-throw line.
Johnny Juzang, guard, 6-7/215, UCLA
Juzang has excellent size for his position. He is coming off a junior season in which he averaged 15.6 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.8 assists for the Bruins while shooting 36% from beyond the arc and 83.5% at the foul line.
Hyunjung Lee, guard, 6-7/210, Davidson
A native of South Korea, Lee is another player who has good size for his position. He averaged 15.8 points and 6.0 rebounds as a junior at Davidson, where he shot 47.4% from the field and 38.1% from long distance.
Tyler Burton, forward, 6-7/215, Richmond
Burton posted career highs of 16.1 points and 7.7 rebounds as a junior at Richmond, shooting 45.7% from the field, 36.5% from 3-point range and 79.1% at the free-throw line.
Keion Brooks, forward, 6-7/210, Kentucky
Brooks started 33 games at Kentucky this season, averaging 10.8 points per game. He shot 49.1% from the field and 78.3% at the free-throw line, but he connected on just 23.3% from beyond the arc and his rebounding averaged dropped from 6.8 as a sophomore to 4.4 as a junior.
Justyn Mutts, forward, 6-7/230, Virginia Tech
After playing his first two college seasons at High Point and Delaware, Mutts spent his final two seasons at Virginia Tech, where he averaged 10.1 points, 7.4 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.2 steals while shooting 53.7% as a senior.
May 11
Grayson Murphy, guard, 6-3/190, Belmont
Murphy averaged 7.7 points, 6.1 rebounds and 5.8 assists as a senior at Belmont. He shot 52.6% from the field but hit just 25% from 3-point range and 47.2% at the free-throw line.
A.J. Green, guard, 6-4/190, Northern Iowa
Posted averages of 15.0, 19.7, 22.3 and 18.8 points per game at Northern Iowa, shooting 39.1%, 40.7% and 38.7% from beyond the arc over this last three seasons.
Jalen Adaway, guard, 6-5/215, St. Bonaventure
Posted a career-high 15.3 points and 5.9 rebounds as a senior with the Bonnies, shooting 47.4% from the field, 37.6% from long distance and 82.6% at the free-throw line.
Buddy Boeheim, guard, 6-6/205, Syracuse
The son of legendary Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim averaged 19.2 points, 3.4 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.5 steals as a senior; shot 40.6% from the field and 34.1% from 3-point range but hit 88.4% at the foul line.
Keve Aluma, forward, 6-9/235, Virginia Tech
Averaged a career-high 15.8 points and 6.5 rebounds as a senior with the Hokies; shot 66.7% as a sophomore and 53.8% as a senior.
Grant Golden, forward, 6-10/255, Richmond
A sixth-year senior who had his best year in 2018=19, averaging 17.2 points, 7.1 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.2 blocks for the Spiders.
May 12
Will Richardson, guard, 6-5/180, Oregon
Averaged 14.1 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.6 assists as a senior; improved his 3-point shooting from 27.8% as a freshman to 46.9%, 40.3% and 38.8% with increasing volume over his last three seasons.
Jamal Bieniemy, guard, 6-5/185, UTEP
The nephew of Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy averaged 14.7 points, 3.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists as a junior at UTEP while shooting 39.1% from the field and 40.3% from beyond the arc.
Lester Quinones, guard, 6-5/208, Memphis
As a junior at Memphis, Quinones averaged 10.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.3 assists, shooting 44.9% from the field and 39% from 3-point range on 4.3 attempts per game.
Jeriah Horne, forward, 6-7/220, Tulsa
Averaged career highs of 16.1 points, 6.9 rebounds, 1.5 assists as a senior at Tulsa; shot 40.5% from the field, 33.3% from 3-point range and 66.7% at the foul line.
Kenneth Lofton Jr., forward, 6-7/275, Louisiana Tech
Under-19 FIBA sensation averaged 16.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.2 stelas as a freshman at Louisiana Tech, shooting 53.9% from the field but just 59.6% at the free-throw line.
Efe Abogidi, forward, 6-10/225, Washington State
Averaged 8.1 points, 5.8 rebounds, 0.6 assists as a sophomore at Washington State, shooting 51% from the field, 23.1% from 3-point range and 78.9% at the free-throw line.
May 15-22
Kings representatives were roaming the grounds with a little more pep in their step at the NBA combine this week after some lottery luck gave them the No. 4 pick in the draft.
The Kings interviewed more than two dozen prospects over the first few days of the combine. Sources told The Sacramento Bee that list included Kentucky guard Shaedon Sharpe, Duke forward AJ Griffin, Duke forward Wendell Moore and Purdue forward Trevion Williams. The Athletic’s Mike Vorkunov reported G League Ignite guard Dyson Daniels had also met with the Kings. Sharpe, Griffin and Daniels are projected as potential top-10 picks.
FOX40’s Sean Cunningham reported the Kings also met with LSU power forward Tari Eason and Baylor small forward Kendall Brown — both projected as possible mid-first-round picks — as well as North Carolina State shooting guard Terquavion Smith and Purdue power forward Trevion Williams.
More combine intel
Sources said the Kings interviewed a total of 33 prospects at the NBA draft combine and attended pro-day workouts for numerous players, including Sharpe, Keegan Murray, Daniels, Tari Eason and Ochai Ogbaji.
The Kings will hold pre-draft workouts Monday and Tuesday in Sacramento before going to Southern California for agency pro-days Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
June 10
The Kings were tightlipped about their preparation for the draft over the past couple of weeks, but one of the players they are evaluating revealed he is coming to Sacramento for a pre-draft workout. Dyson Daniels, a projected top-10 pick, shared his itinerary Friday following a workout with the Indiana Pacers.
Daniels told the Indianapolis Star he will visit the Kings and Washington Wizards in the days to come after participating in previous workouts with the Portland Trail Blazers, San Antonio Spurs, New Orleans Pelicans, New York Knicks, Detroit Pistons and Pacers. A league source confirmed Daniels is expected to make a stop in Sacramento.
Daniels, 19, is a 6-foot-7 ½, 195-pound shooting guard who grew up in Australia before coming to the United States to play for G League Ignite last season. Daniels averaged 12.0 points, 7.1 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 2.0 steals in 26 games for Ignite.
June 13
The Kings utilized social media channels to share footage of a pre-draft workout featuring Baylor guard James Akinjo; San Francisco guard Jamaree Bouyea; West Virginia guard Taz Sherman; Georgia Tech guard Jordan Usher; Memphis forward Joshua Minott; and Baylor forward Jeremy Sochan, who is considered a potential top-10 pick.
The footage also included appearance by Kings player development coaches Rico Hines and Lindsey Harding. The team has yet to confirm that Hines are Harding will be retained from last year’s staff.
This story was originally published May 16, 2022 at 9:40 AM.
