The Pacific isn’t quite as stacked as it used to be.
Obviously the Warriors are the class of the NBA and the Clippers loaded up in the offseason, but the other teams are down.
Let's take a look at the Summer League showings from new members of the Sacramento Kings.
Willie Cauley-Stein, Kings C - The Kings didn’t draft him for offense, but he didn’t have much trouble getting easy looks at Summer League. In his five games, Cauley-Stein averaged 11.4 points, 5.4 boards, 0.4 steals and 2.8 blocks in just 22.4 minutes. Those are obviously fantastic per-36 averages and the Kings really leaned on him on offense. In fact, he had 10.6 shots per game in the first three outings and he even had 10 attempts from the line in his final game.
He did most of his damage in the open floor, which will really help him at the next level. The problem is that the open dunks won’t come as easily in the NBA and at that kind of magnitude. Cauley-Stein had 60.6 percent of his shots come from at the rim at college, which includes 20.3 percent of his shots coming on putbacks. Those are tough to put up in the NBA.
The other obvious problem is his playing time. DeMarcus Cousins is going to get huge minutes while Kosta Koufos will be higher on the depth chart. Thrill also made just 61.7 percent at the line at Kentucky and 65.0 percent at Vegas. His ceiling isn’t too high to begin with.
James Anderson, Kings G/F - He is probably the only other King who may get minutes. Anderson was really good at Summer League, averaging 12.3 points, 2.7 boards, 2.0 assists and 4.7 turnovers on 63.6 percent from the field. He was with the 76ers back in the 2013-14 season and played 28.9 minutes per game in 80 outings.
Anderson’s Summer League was cut short due to a minor injury, but it won’t affect him at camp. He still might not make the team and fantasy owners can ignore him for now.
Sim Bhullar, Kings C - He played 21 minutes in one game and had a solid night on the glass. Bhullar scored four points with 10 rebounds and one block. He’s a giant at 7’5” and 360 pounds, but he’s really just a big body and doesn’t have the skills to go with it yet. It would be great to see him succeed in the NBA, but he’s not there right now.
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