The Kings almost took a gamble on Michael Porter Jr.
During an appearance on “The Old Man and the Three with JJ Redick and Tommy Alter,” Michael Porter Jr. dropped some info on the 2018 NBA Draft process and why he thought he might end up in Sacramento.
Prior to his lone college season at Missouri, Porter Jr. was considered a consensus top 3 pick in the draft due to his unique silky scoring and shooting ability on his 6-foot-10 frame. An injury-riddled college season and a stacked draft class caused him to fall all the way to No. 14 to the Denver Nuggets.
The Kings, who had the No. 2 pick in the draft that year and famously took Marvin Bagley III, were thought to be extremely interested in Porter heading into the draft. On the podcast, Porter Jr. confirmed as much, saying that the Kings were pretty much locked in on him at No. 2 after watching him work out once:
“Sacramento brings me in and is like ‘If you feel good we are going to take you with the No. 2 pick.”
Then, Porter Jr.’s agent scheduled a second workout for the top-10 teams in the draft that year, but Porter Jr.’s back that caused him to sit out most of the college year acted up on him prior to the second workout. Porter Jr. was unable to work out for a second time, causing teams to medically red flag him.
Porter Jr. isn’t Luka Doncic but had the Kings taken him instead of Bagley III, the franchise is likely in a better spot at this point.