Heading into the 2017 NBA Draft, the Sacramento Kings had their fingers crossed in hopes of landing a point guard with their fifth overall pick.
Sacramento had things, fortunately, sway their way on Thursday night with former Kentucky point guard De'Aaron Fox falling in their laps at the selection. Following the draft, general manager Vlade Divac boasted quite highly of Fox by stating they would have selected him with the first overall pick had they been there.
"If we had the number 1 pick, he was our guy." -Divac on Fox
— James Ham (@James_HamNBA) June 23, 2017
It had been reported a couple of weeks ago that the Kings were even willing to trade both the fifth and 10th overall picks to move up to take Fox due to their strong need to address their point guard situation.
In his lone season at Kentucky, Fox put together quite a productive campaign averaging 16.7 points, 4.6 assists, and 4.0 rebounds, and 1.5, which made him one of only four freshmen in the nation put up those numbers. He is a quick guard that can create his own offense off the dribble while also being able to play-make for others.
Fox was considered one of the top prospects from this year's class, but was a bit overlooked due to the majority of national media looking towards both Markelle Fultz and Lonzo Ball, who wound up being the first two picks of the draft.
That said, Fox will now have the opportunity to showcase his ability in Sacramento as likely their starting point guard from the get-go alongside another former first-round pick in Buddy Hield. The fact that Kings have this type of utmost confidence in him could go a long way in helping him develop into the star player that the organization strongly believes he can become.
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