ESPN's Chad Ford released his Mock Draft 8.0 on Tuesday and has the Sacramento Kings taking University of North Carolina small forward Harrison Barnes with the no. 5 overall pick.
Here's a snippet of what Ford had to say about the Kings and Barnes:
If they can entice a team to give up a young veteran for the no. 5 pick, I think they do it. If they keep the pick, it's looking like they'll play it safe and grab Barnes. [UConn's Andre] Drummond is in the mix too, but he's a much riskier proposition.
Putting Barnes in the lineup at small forward next to Isaiah Thomas, Tyreke Evans and DeMarcus Cousins will give the Kings a floor spacer that can play off of Thomas and Evans' penetration and any double-teams Cousins may attract. He may struggle getting his own shot at the next level but on the Kings, his shots will be created for him and he was at his best playing off of point guard Kendall Marshall in college so that wouldn't be an adjustment for him.
For more in depth discussion and analysis of the Sacramento Kings, head on over to the best blog anywhere, Sactown Royalty. For more on the NBA Draft in general, make sure that you check out SB Nation's NBA hub.