Video of the Day: Kings Swing For the Fences By Selecting Head Cases

Last night my Sacramento Kings selected Kentucky center DeMarcus Cousins with the fifth pick overall. The Kings also swung for the fences in the 2nd round by selecting Marshall center Hassan Whiteside. Going into the draft both Cousins and Whiteside had concerns about their maturity. This can go either two ways for the Kings. It could blow up in their faces or provide them the frontcourt help they needed to propel them back to the Playoffs.

Cousins not only has maturity issues but also has weight issues. He said that he would work on getting his weight down to an appropriate NBA level. Cousins though is the biggest wildcard in the draft. If he does control his emotions, he will be the most polished big man coming into the leagues and a guaranteed 20-10 guy. Jeff Van Gundy summed up Cousins perfectly last night, "You need to rebound the ball, you need an interior presence to win in this league. … You can get a guy in shape. If he loves the game, he'll get in shape. If he loves to play, he'll be a good teammate. And you can't find guys who can rebound the ball like this guy does."



Cousins is worth the risk for Sacramento. The Kings have had "headcases" on their team before. Chris Webber was a "headcase" before he was traded to the Kings. That worked out just fine for the Kings. Ron Artest was and is a "headcase" before he was traded to the Kings. Both guys worked out for the Kings. Sacramento is like a rehab center for headcases.



The Kings also selected Hassan Whiteside, the seven-foot center from Marshall. Whiteside had the biggest slide in the draft a supposed lottery selection dropped to the second round. Questions surrounded Whiteside about his maturity before the draft. The Whiteside selection was also worth the risk.



Whiteside and Cousins are both worth the risk. If anyone didn't notice, the Lakers won the championship this year with size. Oklahoma City, Utah, Phoenix, and Boston couldn't compete with the Lakers size. With the addition of Whiteside, Cousins, and Samuel Dalembert the Kings finally have the players needed to compete for a playoff spot once again. Now add into the fact the Kings already have Beno Udrih, Tyreke Evans, Omri Casspi, Jason Thompson, and Carl Landry and you have a young talented team that should compete for a playoff spot next season.



Cousins and Whiteside are definitely worth the risk, especially Whiteside.