Kings Land Purdue C Zach Edey in Latest NBA Mock Draft

Sacramento will miss the playoffs and retain their 2024 pick, opting to go for the Boilermakers' big man, according to projections.

The summertime Sacramento Kings are known for their, for better or worse, unique draft picks. Some have been questionable over the years or turned out to be flops, but others - most recently F Keegan Murray - have proven to be great picks that have been a perfect fit for the team.

The Kings do not have a 1st round pick in the upcoming 2024 draft after trading it to the Atlanta Hawks in 2022 to acquire G Kevin Huerter - however, the pick is lottery-protected. This means that if the Kings were to miss the playoffs and enter the 14-team draft lottery, they would keep their pick this year - and that's exactly what ESPN predicts with their latest mock draft.

The mock draft, based on current ESPN projections, sees the Kings get the 13th pick in this year's draft. This assumes they will narrowly miss the playoffs this year.

With the 13th pick, the Sacramento Kings select:

Purdue Boilermakers center Zach Edey (15) celebrates a made basket in the second half against the Indiana Hoosiers at Mackey Arena / Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

C Zach Edey, Purdue University

That's right - the Kings are projected to take one of the top college basketball players. Edey would be 22 when drafted after all four years at Purdue. Edey is averaging 23.2 points, 11.9 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game this year. The 7'4" big man would likely contend for a starting spot immediately, meaning a few changes to the Kings' lineup.

Assuming that the Kings keep the starting roster -  G De'Aaron Fox, G Kevin Huerter, F Harrison Barnes, F Keegan Murray, and C Domantas Sabonis - mostly if not fully intact, Edey would start at center if HC Mike Brown elected to go for that. Huerter and Barnes were both linked to trades out of Sacramento before the trade deadline, so we may see one, if not both of them, traded. 

However, if neither of them goes, it would be expected that Harrison Barnes moves to the bench, letting Keegan Murray take over at the wing and pushing 6'10" Sabonis out of his center role to power forward.

All of this is complete speculation, and there's no guarantee the Kings even miss the playoffs. Sacramento sits at 8th in the West as of now, and despite alternating hot streaks and rough patches, seems locked to at least make the play-in tournament. 

On top of that, that would mean the Kings take Sabonis out of the role that he has dominated this year, averaging 20.1 points, 13.2 rebounds, and 8.3 assists per game while posting a league-high 18 triple-doubles.

While the actual odds of this pick are way too early to tell, the question that remains for fans is this: Would you draft Zach Edey to the Kings if you had the chance?

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