NBA DRAFT: Sacramento Kings Select Willie Cauley-Stein With No. 6 Pick
SACRAMENTO (CBS13/AP) — The Sacramento Kings selected center Willie Cauley-Stein with the No. 6 pick in the NBA Draft on Thursday.
Cauley-Stein averaged just 7.9 points per game in three seasons at Kentucky but is considered to be a top defender capable of blocking shots, playing in the post and defending pick and rolls. Cauley-Stein averaged 6.2 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game in college while shooting 60 percent from the field.
Cauley-Stein injured his leg in the 2014 NCAA Tournament, but came back to help the team to the Final Four, where they lost to Wisconsin.
"We're going to continue to have ups and downs," Vice President Vlade Divac said after making his first major move as the head of basketball operations. "Less of them between now and October would be great."
Divac downplayed reports of tension between owner Vivek Ranadive and Karl but did say that his relationship with Karl still needs work. While praising Karl as a coach, Divac said he had to send a message that he was in charge of the organization and that Karl needed to trust him to do his job.
"You have to have good chemistry," Divac said. "That's what we try to do. Maybe we didn't have it yesterday or two years ago but we'll attempt to have good chemistry heading into training camp."
Divac said he didn't even tell Karl or Ranadive who he was picking until just before the selection was announced.
Divac and Ranadive want to build around Cousins and Divac said he gave his star player that message in a phone call earlier this week. Divac was less certain when asked whether he believed that the relationship between Karl and Cousins was salvageable.
"Let me put it this way, I want to believe," Divac said. "We'll see how it goes."
There were some concerns about Cauley-Stein's health after he underwent surgery for a stress fracture in his ankle late in the 2013-14 season. But Cauley-Stein was able to play 31 games last season and says he is almost completely healthy.
He could form a formidable inside duo with another former Kentucky star in DeMarcus Cousins if the Kings don't trade Cousins. Sacramento needed defensive help after allowing the third-most points per game and seventh-highest shooting percentage last season.
The Kings are coming off another tumultuous, losing season that saw the organization go through three head coaches and post a 29-53 record. Sacramento has missed the playoffs for nine straight seasons and has the second-worst record in the NBA over that span.
The Kings fired coach Michael Malone 24 games into the season and replaced him with Tyrone Corbin. That tenure lasted just 28 games before George Karl was hired to coach the franchise.
Karl posted an 11-19 record down the stretch but has far from solidified the franchise. D'Alessandro left in the offseason for Denver and Divac took over running the team and the Kings have been surrounded by reports that Cousins is on the trading block because Karl does not want to build the team around him.
Those reports won't go away soon with the Kings drafting another center in the first round although the two big men are capable of playing together.
Cousins is one of the few foundation pieces the Kings have on the roster. He averaged 24.1 points and 12.7 rebounds last season and is one of the game's brightest young stars at age 24.
The team's past two first-round picks are still works in progress in guard Ben McLemore, who showed signs of improvement in year two, and swingman Nik Stauskas, who struggled as a rookie.
The Kings are not scheduled to make any other picks Thursday.
Copyright 2015 The Associated Press.
