Willie Cauley-Stein has unique attributes on defense to make him worthy of a lottery pick, but was he the best pick available to the Sacramento Kings at No. 6?

Sacramento has had seven lottery picks since 2007 with DeMarcus Cousins’ selection in 2010 being the only one that can be characterized as an outright success. Jimmer Fredette and Thomas Robinson are two of the more extreme Sacramento lottery busts of recent years. Tyreke Evans began strong with the Rookie of the Year in 2009, but hasn’t had as much long-term success as many of the other members of that class. Jason Thompson and Spencer Hawes are rotation players and it is too early to tell on Ben McLemore and Nik Stauskas.

1. When you have one of the NBA’s top centers, why reach for Cauley-Stein?

While Rudy Gay still provides some value to Sacramento, the rest of the roster is still a complete mess. After letting Isaiah Thomas go in restricted free agency in 2014, because he “lacks size,” Sacramento settled for middle-of-the-road floor general Darren Collison as a replacement. With playmaking point guard Emmanuel Mudiay still available, Sacramento missed out on the opportunity to pair a two-way star with Cousins.

2. Even if the Kings weren’t high on Mudiay, is Cauley-Stein still the best option on the board at No. 6?

Justise Winslow and Stanley Johnson were both still available, and though Sacramento already has McLemore and Stauskas, neither player has found consistent success on the wing. In order to compete for a playoff spot, the Kings have to become a better team surrounding Cousins. They need to find someone who can spread the floor by hitting open jumpers and absolutely contribute on the defensive end of the floor.

3. DeMarcus Cousins and Willie Cauley-Stein really play on the floor together?

Cousins is by no means a bad defender and is a great defensive rebounder, but his value remains far higher on offense. The thought of pairing two seven-footers, one offensive specialist and one defensive, makes sense in theory, but there are issues on both ends of the floor.

Cauley-Stein’s lack of ability on offense will become a spacing issue for Cousins in the low post, while Cauley-Stein will likely end up defending smaller players on the perimeter.

The overlap and complementary natures of their games make the possibility of a perfect blend enticing, but teams could make fairly easy adjustments to negate that impact.