It's generally accepted that teh first 7 names off of the board will be; Simmons, Ingram, Bender, Dunn, Brown, Hield, Murray, in no order in particular.
For Sacramento at #8 they will have several "tier 3" choices but what are they looking for? With Joerger coming in and looking to build around Cousins would they want another Center behind him, WCS and Koufos? Would they want a high upside project unlikely to impact their team next year? Or someone who can impact straight away?
Their options:
Jacob Poeltl
Henry Ellenson
Marquese Chriss
Deyonta Davis
Skal Labissiere
Denzel Valentine
Domanas Sabonis
Furkan Korkmaz
Timothe Luwawu
That pretty much covers the options.
Poeltl and to a certain extent Davis are Centers. Chriss, Skal and again Davis are a few years off of contributing well. Korkmaz and Luwawu are stashes so not immediate help. Ellenson could come in and help but I wouldn't want to count on it. All of these options I feel are redundant for Sacramento.
That leaves us with 2 options, Sabonis and Valentine. With Sabonis being a PF and not having 3 point range yet there is some overlap with the current roster. Valentine however is a 3 point shooting wing with playmaking skills, something Sac will need if they do let go of Rondo.
#8 seems quite high for Valentine but I can't see any safe trade back options for Sac with the Magic at #11 who could also take him.
Aside from Bender or the like being taken with the Lakers pick this pick could be the one that shakes up the composition of the draft.
What do you think?