Scouting Report: Malachi Richardson

Malachi Richardson with Adam Silver (AP)

Malachi Richardson shakes NBA Commissioner's hand on draft night. (Credit: AP)

Another draft has come and gone in the NBA and yet again there were some unpredictable surprises; many of which came from the Sacramento Kings (Read our 2016 draft recap by clicking here). One of those moves that the Kings made, happened at the beginning of the night, before the draft even began by trading away 8-year NBA veteran shooting guard, Marco Belinelli to the Charlotte Hornets for the 22nd overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft.

The Charlotte Hornets had to make the pick for the Kings due to the fact that the trade won’t be made official by the NBA until July 1, 2016. The Kings decided to go with the 20 year old freshman shooting guard, Malachi Richardson from Syracuse. The two-guard averaged 13.4 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.1 assists for the Orange to go along with 1.2 steals per game and 0.3 blocks in his one year at Syracuse. Richardson averaged a near-team high in turnovers with 2.1 per game, second only to new Pistons and formally Orange guard, Michael Gbinije. Richardson shot 36.9% from the field and 35.3% from the 3 point line. He was also a 72% free throw shooter.

Malachi was expected by most to go mid-teens in the first round, but fell to the Kings at 22. DraftExpress.com ranked him #35 in their top 100 prospects and RSCIhoops.com ranked him 29 out of the 2015 high school class. The 6’6, 200lb shooting guard has a 7’0” wingspan and 8’5.5 standing reach as well as a 38 inch vertical. Richardson has the strength and toughness to play Shoot Guard and Small Forward in the NBA.

Richardson isn’t the most athletic player, but can still bring a lot to this young Kings team. Any limitation he may have on defense is made up by his massive 7’0” wingspan. He is an excellent catch and shoot player. He can stop and pop at the drop of a dime, Richardson just needs to focus on becoming a more consistent shooter. Because of his catch and shoot abilities, he can attack the defense’s closeouts well. Perhaps the best thing in Richardson’s game is the ability to create offense, something the Kings have been missing from the shooting guard position for awhile. His great footwork and quick shot allows him to create space well with the ball in his hands. Due to Richardson’s quickness and his ability to absorb contact down low, he is solid in iso situations; although, he needs to get better at finishing at the rim.

Richardson has the ability to handle the ball when needed (similar to Ben McLemore). He’s a rather selfish player with the ball; he averaged only 2.1 assists in the 2015-16 season. Malachi is known to be sort of a ball-hog at times. He jacks up a lot of poor shots, even with time left on the shot clock. Richardson’s biggest weakness is that he is a very streaky shooter, something the Kings may know all too well.

With Marco Belinelli being traded away, the Kings only have 1 true shooting guard in Ben McLemore at the moment. While it is expected for the Kings to go out and grab some shooters in free agency, a spot on this team for Richardson is definitely open. It’s up to him to show everyone what he can do, starting with NBA Summer League in Las Vegas on July 8th.