The Kings have remained confident that Darius Acuff Jr. is the franchise's lead guard of the future. He received another endorsement from a longtime NBA point guard earlier this week.
Despite some inefficiencies in the NBA Summer League, members of the Sacramento Kings' front office and coaching staff have talked about rookie point guard Darius Acuff Jr. being the franchise's future cornerstone.
After much speculation about Sacramento's interest in Acuff leading up to the draft, the Kings cashed in on their top guard prospect, netting the SEC Player of the Year with the No. 7 overall pick.
On Thursday, longtime play-by-play announcer Mark Jones joined the Sac Town Sports' radio show to talk about his new gig as the Kings' announcer and what he has heard about the team.
"He's fun to watch," Jones said about Acuff.
He went on to say that longtime NBA point guard and known reliable talent evaluator Andre Miller was very impressed with the Kings' rookie guard.
Jones said that Miller even approached head coach Doug Christie with praises for Acuff, telling him "he can really go."
Miller spent part of the 2014-2015 campaign with the Kings towards the end of his career, making 30 appearances.
He was highly regarded as a high-IQ player during his time in the NBA and now coaches the Grand Rapids Gold in the G-League.
The expectations for Acuff are high heading into his rookie season, with former players and legendary coaches endorsing him.
Acuff was one of the most dynamic offensive talents in the country last season, averaging 23.5 points and 6.4 assists per game en route to an SEC Championship.
In June, Acuff's head coach at Arkansas, John Calipari, joined The Herd with Colin Cowherd, where he talked about what his latest guard prospect will provide at the next level.
"18 [points] and 8 [assists] minimum," Calipari said.
These numbers seem within reach for Acuff, who should be the offense's main initiator and primary scorer.
For a Kings backcourt in desperate need of shot creation and playmaking, Acuff provides both, taking over games last season.
After a 28-point, 13-assist performance against the Longhorns, Acuff received high praise from Texas head coach Sean Miller.
"In my time -- and I'll just go 34 years -- I've never seen a point guard better," Miller said. "People talk about who's going to be the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft or who's the best player in the conference. ... This No. 1 pick thing, I don't know why people aren't talking about him more. I can't imagine anybody better."
Acuff's best scoring performance of his professional career thus far was a 25-point showing against the Brooklyn Nets in the California Classic.
However, efficiency was a struggle, as the former Razorback made just 9-of-29 attempts.
Passing was more of a consistent positive for Acuff, who frequently delivered on-the-money dishes to his teammates.
Jones noted this strength on Thursday, saying that he was very impressed with Acuff's ability to deliver on-the-money passes to his teammates in various situations.
While fitting the pieces together in the starting lineup could take time, Acuff's offensive versatility will be a big boost this season.
