Hawes, Robinson and Stauskas: Here’s what the Sacramento Kings have done in the draft

A gift landed in the Sacramento Kings’ lap Tuesday night. With a little luck, the franchise landed the No. 4 pick in the upcoming NBA draft.

Since their playoff drought began 16 seasons ago, the Kings have only picked fourth or higher twice. One pick, Tyreke Evans in 2009, worked out pretty well. The other pick, Marvin Bagley in 2018, is infamous.

A lot has happened in 16 years. We got curious and took a look at how the Kings have fared in the first round of the draft. The results speak for themselves.

Sacramento Kings first-round picks

2021, No. 9, Davion Mitchell: His offense leaves something to be desired, but Mitchell’s defense left Kings fans posting highlight reels on social media. If his scoring improves, Mitchell poses a potent 1-2 combination with De’Aaron Fox in the backcourt.

2020, No. 12, Tyrese Haliburton: He was the first pick for new general manager Monte McNair and proved to be a doozy, showing he’s capable of scoring, assisting and defending. Traded to Indiana in exchange for two-time All-Star Domantas Sabonis.

2018, No. 2, Marvin Bagley: The pick that will live in infamy. We’ll spare Kings fans the details. Suffice to say he is not a very good basketball player.

2017, No. 5, De’Aaron Fox: The first hit in a long time for the Kings. He’s averaged more than 20 points per game the past three seasons and is the team’s unquestioned starting point guard.

2017, No. 10, Zach Collins: Dealt on draft night for Harry Giles and Justin Jackson, neither of whom worked out for the Kings long-term, but both won the hearts of fans.

2016, No. 8, Marquese Chriss: He never suited up for Sacramento, as he was dealt on draft night for Bogdan Bogdanović, Georgios Papagiannis and Skal Labissière. It wasn’t the worst move ever; Bogdanović was a stalwart off the bench for four years.

2015, No. 6, Willie Cauley-Stein: The athletic center was a fan favorite in Sacramento, and he had a couple of pretty good seasons with the Kings before he left in free agency. He might be out of the league now at 28, going on 29.

2014, No. 8, Nik Stauskas: Stauskas has never been anything more than a fringe NBA player, with no starts in the last five seasons. Though he has at least managed to stay in the league, which is more than we can say about a lot of these guys.

2013, No. 7, Ben McLemore: He’s patched together a reasonably solid NBA career since he was taken in the lottery. He’s still in the league, averaging 10.2 points per game with Portland last season coming off the bench.

2012, No. 5, Thomas Robinson: One of the worst first-round picks of all-time for Sacramento. He lasted 51 games in his rookie season before being traded away.

2011, No. 7, Bismack Biyombo: Never stepped on the court for Sacramento as the Kings dealt him on draft night for Jimmer Fredette, who famously flamed out in two and a half seasons with Sacramento.

2010, No. 5, DeMarcus Cousins: Oh, Boogie. Statistically, this pick was the best the Kings made since the playoff drought started. Cousins is a four-time All-Star and averaged more than 20 points in six of his seasons. He was also strong-headed and forced his way off the Kings before injuries derailed his career.

2009, No. 4, Tyreke Evans: No player drafted by the Kings had a bigger flash of promise. Evans averaged 20.1 points, 5.8 assists and 5.3 rebounds a game during his rookie season. He never scored at that level again but he was a solid NBA starter over the course of 10 seasons.

2009, No. 23, Omri Casspi: Oh yeah. That guy. Casspi burst onto the scene with 10.3 points per game in his rookie season. Then he changed teams seven times over the course of 10 middling NBA seasons.

2008, No. 12, Jason Thompson: We can say this much about Thompson: He stuck around a long time. Thompson played seven seasons with the Kings, rarely missing a game but rarely doing anything exceptional.

2007, No. 10, Spencer Hawes: He wasn’t a bad pick, in that he lasted for 10 seasons in the league. But Hawes was never much more than a replacement-level starter in the NBA, averaging 8.7 points per game for his career.

2006, No. 19, Quincy Douby: With the franchise flagging as stars aged out of the league, the Kings needed a hit to revive the team’s prospects. Didn’t happen. Douby maxed out at 4.8 points per game and was out of the league by 2009.

This story was originally published May 18, 2022 at 7:34 AM.