Elite prospects Brayden Burries and Nate Ament break down their combine interviews as Sacramento weighs adding explosive backcourt scoring or a versatile 6-foot-10 wing to their core.
With the Sacramento Kings sitting at the No. 7 overall pick, there are multiple avenues they could take - drafting one of the ultra-talented freshman guards like Darius Acuff Jr., Mikel Brown Jr., or Brayden Burries or opting for a wing like Yaxel Lendeborg or Nate Ament.
Two of these prospects, Burries and Ament, recently commented on specifically meeting with the Kings at the NBA Draft Combine.
"[The meeting] was good. They're a Cali team so they knew a lot of my background story," Burries said. "They love me and I like them."
Burries was the No. 1 player in the state of California coming out of high school, playing his lone season with Arizona.
The standout West Coast product averaged 16.1 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game, serving as the Wildcats' most dynamic scorer.
Roundtable's Lorenzo Reyna highlighted what makes Burries effective.
"Burries continued to show how mature he is beyond his years with his shooting. He knows when to become instinctive in attacking the rim. Yet also showed a knack for knowing when to pull up and shoot," Reyna wrote. "Burries shows a great feel for what the defense gives him and adjusts accordingly. He also took on high-pressure moments with no hesitation."
While No. 7 may be a bit of a reach for Burries, if the Kings feel confident in his scoring ability and experience, he could be the lead guard of the future.
Representing the front court, Ament is also projected to be a back-end lottery pick, coming off of a 16.7-point per game season.
"It was great. Another organization that is super serious about winning," Ament said about Sacramento. "They want to draft the best possible candidate for them, so it was good to hear from them and some of the things they think I can get better at."
Ament went on to say that he would love to land with a franchise he could play with for his whole career, saying he enjoyed asking questions and learning about the Kings' culture.
While Sacramento's front court is solid, Ament's upside is among the highest in the class, possessing smooth jump-shooting mechanics and driving ability combined with a 6-foot-10 frame.
"He brings "point-forward" capabilities ranging from grabbing and going in transition, reading the defense on the move, then facilitate the ball in space," Reyna wrote. "Ament brings a strong feel for the game and his court awareness during plays make him worth looking closer at."
Ament's ability to shoot over shorter defenders and use his size to create advantages in the mid-post would be similar to current Kings forward DeMar DeRozan, who could be a great mentor for the soft-shooting wing.
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