Sacramento Kings star DeMarcus Cousins reportedly wants his team to choose Kentucky center Willie Cauley-Stein with the sixth overall pick in the 2015 NBA draft. Cousins and the Kings, meanwhile, reportedly want to see how next season turns out before considering a trade.
If Cousins could pick for Sacramento in the upcoming draft, it reportedly would be fellow Kentucky alum Cauley-Stein.
"The scouts put (Cauley-Stein) in a special tier as a defensive player," Ryen Russillo of ESPN tweeted Thursday. "Heard Cousins wants him (at No. 6) so he doesn't have to play center."
Cauley-Stein has the potential to be an elite defender, and drafting him would allow Cousins to relinquish the defensive duties of the 5-spot. While the lanky 7-footer would give Sacramento a defensive-minded rim protector, it would also clog the paint between having him and Cousins on the floor. One plus to Cauley-Stein, in addition to him being a superior rim-protector, is his continually improving jump shot.
Conventional thinking, though, would have the Kings take a perimeter player such as Justise Winslow or Kristaps Porzingis, who's a true stretch-4.
The latest mock draft from ESPN's Chad Ford has Sacramento taking Cauley-Stein, and the latest mock draft from Sports Illustrated Chris Mannix has them taking guard Emmanuel Mudiay.
In other Kings-related rumors, both Cousins and the team reportedly are content to play out next season before either party seriously considers asking for - or making - a trade.
