Right as the Sacramento Kings took Willie Cauley-Stein with the 6th pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, everyone was ready to claim he was DeMarcus Cousins replacement.
Let's slow down.... There were a plethora of tweets going out with the same directions of thought as Jay King (pictured above), many other sports writers thought a trade was cooking up even more aggressively after this pick, but why not look at this in the other direction? Cousins got just exactly what he wanted. What does Cousin want? He wants to play power-forward and he wants his main focus to be on offense and he doesn't want to guard centers. Cauley-Stein gives him the ability to do all of this. Cauley-Stein is arguably the best defender in this draft, with his size and athleticism, and he has been compared to Tyson Chandler. What more could the Kings ask for with the 6th pick in the draft? Coach of the Kentucky Wildcats, and Willie's college coach for 3 years, John Calipari said it best: “I look at Willie for a team that needs defense now to get them to another level.” Cauley-Stein is ready to come in now and make an impact defensively, that is not going to be an issue, the concern is his offense. “You take him, mold him offensively and you’ll have an All-Star. His balance needs to improve offensively, getting to the rim and finish and they’ll get to him in one summer.” What is perfect for Sacramento is that he does not need to have his offense ready for this upcoming season. What the Kings need is someone who is going to make an impact on defense, and allow Cousins to do what he does best, focus on his offense and rebounding. Once Cauley-Stein molds into his fullest potential, this can be an extremely daunting front court in the Western Conference. Cauley-Stein himself is excited to come to Sacramento, he is the type of guy that feeds of energy, and you'll get that energy from the Kings fans. He elaborated on that in some of his post-draft interviews: "I love the fact that I am leaving one passionate place and going to another passionate place, because I really feed off my fans." Draft Grade: A+ If you don't understand the grade, and/or haven't seen the passion he plays with, check out the highlight tape the Kings put together last night: