The Play-In seeding is set. The late-season struggles of the Sacramento Kings landed them 9th in the Western Conference, in the bottom half of the Play-In bracket. Since the Kings haven’t been in the Play-In before, I thought it would be beneficial to do a quick review of how it works, as well as the ramifications on Sacramento’s draft pick this year.
The Kings will start on Tuesday with a game against the Golden State Warriors, in a chance to avenge themselves after last year’s playoff loss. This is a one game matchup. The winner moves on, the loser’s season is over.
If the Kings win against the Warriors, they will then play another game against either the Los Angeles Lakers or the New Orleans Pelicans. The Lakers and Pelicans will play each other Tuesday, prior to Kings/Warriors. The winner of that game will be the 7th seed. The loser of that game would be the Kings (or Warriors) matchup in the second Play-In game. Just like before, this is a one game series. Winner is the 8th seed, loser’s season is over.
In short, to make the playoffs (and to be clear, the Play-In is not considered to be the playoffs), the Kings need to win their next two games.
Onto the matter of Sacramento’s draft pick. The Kings owe the Atlanta Hawks a protected first round pick. This year the pick is top-14 protected, meaning that the Kings will keep their pick if the pick is anywhere in the lottery. With the introduction of the Play-In, the 13th and 14th picks aren’t decided until after the tournament. Luckily for us, it makes the pick easy to track.
If the Kings win both their games and advance as the 8th seed, the pick goes to Atlanta. If the Kings lose and miss the playoffs, regardless of whether it’s in the first or second Play-In game, the Kings keep their pick.
If the pick does not convey this year, the pick is top-12 protected next season, and top 10 protected the following year. After that, if it hasn’t conveyed, the pick becomes two second round picks.
Given that this year is viewed as a particularly weak draft, Kings fans should certainly be hoping to convey the pick this season. Doing so would also free up future first round picks for trades. The Kings still have the ability to trade future firsts if the pick doesn’t convey this year, but it becomes much more complicated.
Here’s hoping the Kings can simply win their next two games, convey the pick, and then be a nightmare matchup for the Oklahoma City Thunder.
