The Sacramento Kings are coming off another disappointing season where they finished towards the bottom of the Western Conference with a 31-41 record. However, there is a lot of reasons to be optimistic about this team right now. De'Aaron Fox is a budding superstar who took significant strides in 2020/21, Buddy Hield is one of the best shooters in the league, and Tyrese Haliburton heavily impressed in his rookie season.

The Kings went out in the 2021 NBA Draft and strengthened their roster, nabbing Baylor standout Davion Mitchell at 9th overall. He's already flashed glimpses of brilliance in the NBA Summer League, showing Sacramento fans just why he could end up being such a special talent at the next level. In the second round, the Kings took Utah State seven-footer Neemias Queta, who profiles to be an impactful force in the paint.

Here are draft grades for each of the Sacramento Kings' selections.

Davion Mitchell, PG, Baylor

Grade: A-

No question about it, the Kings were spot on with Mitchell. He rose to prominence in his junior season with the Bears, leading them all the way to a National Championship where they beat the undefeated Gonzaga Bulldogs in the title game. While Mitchell is a talented scorer, his strongest asset is on the defensive end.

At 6 foot 2 and 205 lbs, Mitchell is solid muscle. He plays hard-nosed, in-your-face defense, giving his opponents limited room to work with. The former Baylor star has the potential to be the best perimeter defender in this draft class. There's a reason he's nicknamed “Off night” because when he's guarding another leading scorer, he shuts them down. His defensive tenacity will be a huge benefit to a Kings team who struggled on that end of the floor last season. Just look at this sequence where he locked up James Bouknight:

The reason he's so advanced defensively comes back to his athleticism and quickness. When it comes to scoring the rock, Mitchell is cold-blooded. He may not be an imposing figure, but the youngster has the ability to get the cup in a hurry and finish amongst bigs. His offensive skill set is extremely versatile, too. Mitchell averaged 14.4 points, 2.7 boards, and 5.5 assists for Baylor and is more than capable of being an above-average playmaker for the Kings.

Mitchell gives Sacramento another lights-out shooter as well. He drained an impressive 44% of his attempts from downtown with the Bears and can make it rain from anywhere on the floor. Although the Kings have a congested backcourt, drafting Mitchell was still a great decision. He could end up being one of the best players out of this class and is truly the full package.

Neemias Queta, C, Utah State

Grade: C+

Queta was a legitimate weapon at the collegiate level, posting 14.9 points, 10.1 rebounds, and 2.7 assists in his junior year at Utah State. He did basically everything from shooting the ball to blocking shots, but the question is, will it translate over to the NBA? The Portugal native won't likely play on the Kings right away, but his skill set could potentially develop into something special.

Queta isn't a prototypical big like Nikola Jokic or Karl-Anthony Towns who can stretch the floor, but he has a nice touch around the hoop and is the definition of a rim-runner. At seven-feet, Queta also has the length to block a ton of shots thanks to his 7'5 wingspan. He's not the greatest when it comes to handling the ball on the floor, committing far too many turnovers. But, Queta does possess solid athleticism for his size and has shown some real promise in the Summer League so far.

Richaun Holmes started 61 games at center for the Kings last season and is clearly the first-choice, while Chimezie Metu and Damian Jones will be fighting for minutes behind him. Queta will probably end up in the G-League to start, but there is potential in his game. At 39th overall, this was definitely a low-risk pick for the Kings who could turn out to be a piece of the future.