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There is arguably no NBA team that is worse at drafting and that makes more poor draft day decisions than the Sacramento Kings. The team's history is full of draft busts, and although they had more success as a franchise when they were called the Rochester Royals, Cincinnati Royals, Kansas City-Omaha Royals, or Kansas City Kings, they've done a lot of losing throughout their existence. So, check out the gallery to see the 10 worst NBA Draft day mistakes in Kings history, dating back to their first season in 1948-49 in the BAA.
10. Nik Stauskas – 2014
The Kings had a lot of draft day misses during their early days in the '50s when they were called the Royals. For example, Joe McNamee, Sam Ranzino, Chuck Darling, Richie Regan, Tom Marshall, and Maurice Stokes were all drafted inside of the top 10 in six straight drafts, yet none of them did much for the team. Darling never even suited up for the team, Ranzino only scored 86 points, and Stokes busted out despite being the number two overall pick. Despite this, Rochester found ways to win games, and they even won the championship in 1951.
After this run of draft failures in the '50s, the Royals, now playing their games in Cincinnati, had another bad stretch of picks. Tom Thacker, Nate Bowman, Mel Daniels, and Richard Washington are all worth mentioning as failed picks during this era. The 21st century hasn't treated the Kings any better, either. Ben McLemore, Willie Cauley-Stein, and Davion Mitchell are recent draft busts selected by the team.
None of these aforementioned players even crack the top 10 of the worst draft mistakes in Kings history, though, which should go to show just how inept the organization is at finding and developing talent. The first player to make the cut of this article played during the McLemore/Cauley-Stein era.
Nik Stauskas was drafted as a shooting guard the year after McLemore, who was a fellow two-guard, was taken. The double-dip strategy didn't work out because Stauskas was even worse. The Michigan product shot up draft boards after a run to the NCAA Tournament national championship game, but he didn't have the physical traits to thrive in the NBA. Stauskas only averaged 6.7 points per game for the Kings, as his shooting wasn't as elite as it was billed coming out of college.
9. Joe Kleine – 1985
Joe Kleine was drafted sixth overall in 1985. The next three selections were Chris Mullin, Detlef Schrempf, and Charles Oakley. Even Karl Malone was taken a handful of picks later. The 1985 season was the Kings' first in Sacramento, and they had a surplus of elite prospects to choose from who could lead their franchise while in a new city. Sacramento chose the wrong player, though, as Kleine was a career backup.
8. Bobby Hurley – 1993
Bobby Hurley was one of the greatest college point guards in history. He won back-to-back national championships with Duke while feeding the rock to Grant Hill and Christian Laettner. At the time, his selection at pick seven in 1993 seemed like a no-brainer for the Kings. Hindsight is 20-20, though.
Hurley was thrown from his vehicle after being involved in a car crash while heading home from a game during his rookie season. He suffered life-threatening injuries, and although he would make a comeback to the NBA, he was never the same player. It is hard to call the Hurley selection an NBA Draft day mistake, but unfortunate circumstances outside of the Kings and Hurley's control resulted in the point guard not meeting expectations as a professional basketball player.
7. Ken Durrett – 1971
The Royals drafted Ken Durrett fourth overall in 1971 despite him suffering a knee injury in college that ended his career at La Salle. Durrett was a talented player, but he was never the same after the injury, which resulted in him playing just three-and-a-half years for the organization and scoring just 484 points in total during that stretch. Had he been healthy, Durrett could have been a star, but the Royals' decision to draft him after he suffered such a severe injury has to be questioned.
6. Georgios Papagiannis – 2016
Georgios Papagiannis was supposed to be drafted in the second round of the 2016 NBA Draft. Some draft experts even projected him to go undrafted. Instead, the Kings traded back from their selection at number eight to draft the Greek big man with the 13th pick.
The massive reach proved to be a mistake. Not only could the Kings have gotten Papagiannis much later in the draft, but he proved he wasn't close to being worth a lottery pick. Papagiannis played in just 37 games for the Kings before the team accepted their mistake and waived him.
5. Archie Dees – 1958
The Royals held the first, second, or third overall pick in seven straight drafts during the late '50s to early '60s. The only bonafide star that they came away with during that time was Oscar Robertson. Archie Dees was one of their worst picks during this stretch. The 1958 second-overall pick scored just 1,548 total points for the team. Dees ended up with the Detroit Pistons after his rookie season, and his NBA career as a whole lasted just four seasons.
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4. Thomas Robinson – 2012
Damian Lillard couldn't miss during his workout with the Kings ahead of the 2012 NBA Draft. The team was all but set to take the point guard, but then Thomas Robinson unexpectedly fell down the draft board to the fifth pick. The Kings made a last-second change and went with Robinson, while the Weber State guard went sixth.
That turned out to be a huge mistake. Lillard is one of the best shooters ever as well as one of the best point guards of all time. Robinson was traded at the NBA trade deadline of his rookie season for a package of role players. He was then out of the league by age 25.
3. Marvin Bagley – 2018
Fans will remember Luka Doncic and Trae Young being traded for each other in deals involving the third and fifth picks in the 2018 NBA Draft, but one of the two should have been gone at pick two. The Kings used that pick on Marvin Bagley, a throwback forward who was limited defensively and didn't have much of a perimeter game on offense.
Bagley was a tweener who was too small to be a center but too slow to be a power forward. Doncic and Young, meanwhile, have become two of the best players in the NBA.
2. Pervis Ellison – 1989
Pervis Ellison was nicknamed “Out of Service Pervis” because of his inability to stay healthy. Ellison was one of the worst first-overall picks and one of the biggest draft busts in NBA history. Ellison showed so little in his rookie season that the Kings gave up on him after just one year.
Ellison was traded after his rookie season for a measly package of role players and draft capital outside of the lottery. Ellison did have one good season when he averaged 20 points per game and became the Most Improved Player on the Washington Bullets, but the vast majority of his career saw him hampered by or sidelined with injuries. His Kings tenure was the biggest disappointment, though.
1. Si Green – 1956
The Royals' draft picks from 1950-55 all just narrowly missed making this list, but the 1956 first-overall pick belongs here among the worst draft day decisions in franchise history. Si Green was taken before the NBA-ABA merger, so he didn't make ClutchPoints' ranking of every first-overall NBA pick ever, but he would have ranked near the bottom if that list included players from his era.
Green was just a career 9.2-point-per-game scorer. He showed promise as a rookie by averaging 11.5 points per game, but he missed the next season due to military service time with the U.S. Army. After his return a season later, Green was traded to the St. Louis Hawks. Bill Russell was taken just one pick after Green, and he'd help the Boston Celtics win championships in 11 of the next 13 seasons.
Had the Royals drafted Russell instead of Green, they could have gotten one of the best NBA players ever and even potentially become a dynasty. Instead, they were sent down a path that led to them becoming one of the worst organizations in the sport.
