SACRAMENTO -- With the 2017 NBA Draft just days away, the Sacramento Kings wrapped up their pre-draft workout schedule Monday with another six NBA hopefuls rolling through the practice facility. Over the last few weeks, nearly 70 prospects have made the trip to the Capital City, including eight players expected to go in the top 20 in Thursday night’s draft.
“We were impressed with a lot of the guys, not only how they worked in the process of the workouts, but how they represented themselves as young men,” Kings executive vice president of basketball operations Scott Perry said following Monday’s workout. “We learned a lot about them, they learned a lot about us and what we’re trying to get accomplished here in Sacramento. We really felt that this process went very, very well.”
Wake Forest's John Collins highlighted the final workout. It was the second stop in Sacramento for the 6-foot-10 power forward who is expected to be selected in the top 15 picks of the upcoming draft.
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Collins joins De’Aaron Fox, Josh Jackson, Zach Collins, Donovan Mitchell, Harry Giles, Justin Jackson and Jarrett Allen as potential top 20 selections to make their way to Sacramento. In addition, another dozen or so players expected to go between the late first round and mid second round worked out for the Kings during predraft workouts.
Here are so quick takeaways from the draft process:
--- John Collins wasn’t the only player to make multiple trips to Sacramento. Kansas point guard Frank Mason III dazzled the media with his post workout dunk exhibitions twice. He is expected to draw plenty of interest in the late first/early second round on Thursday night and all indications are that the Kings were impressed.
--- Caleb Swanigan also made an impression, not only on his fellow workout attendee Donovan Mitchell, but the Kings brass in attendance. The sophomore big out of Purdue can score around the basket with either hand and has plenty of range.
NBA
--- Zach Collins has more to his game than what people saw in his lone season at Gonzaga. According to folks in attendance at his workout in Sac, the 7-foot power forward went hard at the Kings’ coaching staff in one-on-one drills and followed that up with a stellar 3-point performance. He is slotted to go anywhere from 10 to 15 in the upcoming draft.
--- The Kings were able to lure both projected top 5 selections Josh Jackson and De’Aaron Fox in for visits. Jackson met with the Kings front office and coaching staff, but did not workout. Fox on the other hand posted parts of his visit on social media, stayed the night in Sacramento and worked out for the team in a one-on-none setting. Both players fit a position of need and neither one is expected to make it past number 5, where the Kings select.
--- The theme coming from the players over the last few weeks was the competitive nature of the Kings workouts. Most of theses players have spent the better part of a month on the road working out for one team after another. Mason III had already taken part in 10 workouts in his second visit to Sacramento and had another four scheduled before draft night. It’s a grind, but the consensus was that players were impressed with the Kings’ building and the vibe of the coaching staff.