Malachi Richardson

Though the fact that Richardson, a 20-year-old wing out of Syracuse, was selected 23rd overall by the Kings wasn't surprising, he endured plenty of criticism from draft analysts along the way. After all, this is a player who shot just 37 percent from the field and averaged just 4.3 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 34.4 minutes per game as a freshman, numbers that didn't exactly suggest that he was first-round material. Richardson clearly has some aspects of his game that need work, but by digging a little deeper, it's obvious why the Kings were willing to overlook his horrid numbers. He measured in at 6-foot-6 with a seven-foot wingspan at the NBA Combine, which qualifies as next-level length for a player who can play either shooting guard and small forward, and possibly even some small-ball power forward. In addition, Richardson shot 35.3 percent from behind the arc, so his floor would seem to be that of a "3-and-D" wing. He was also an and-one machine in college, finishing with contact in traffic with regularity, and given his size, that attribute should translate to the NBA. Richardson is still learning the game, however, so he likely won't be thrust into a rotational role right away, even on a rebuilding Kings squad. With Arron Afflalo and Ben McLemore ahead of him on the depth chart, Richardson will likely see extended stretches in the D-League as a rookie, but that shouldn't affect his long-term outlook. Neither Afflalo nor McLemore are permanent solutions on the wing, so if Richardson shows better-than-expected efficiency during his time in the D-League and his limited cameos off the bench with the NBA team, he could emerge as a rotation player in 2017-18.