How will Willie Cauley-Stein and DeMarcus Cousins co-exist?

Willie Cauley-Stein was one of the more divisive players in the lottery of the 2015 NBA Draft. The week leading up to the big event, many experts believed the foot injury he suffered during his sophomore year at Kentucky was still an issue worthy of concern. That left his stock as one of the more unknown commodities amongst the top prospects, ranging anywhere from No. 4 to the Knicks to the late lottery.

Cauley-Stein landed in Sacramento at No. 6, joining fellow Kentucky alum DeMarcus Cousins in the front court for the Kings. Sacramento also signed Kosta Koufos this summer, loading their team up with players that have always played the center position. By drafting Willie, the Kings envision pairing him with their starting center and being able to function as a twin tower next to Cousins.

The big question on everyone’s mind: Will this actually work out?

DEFENSE

It’s easy to focus on Willie’s weaknesses, because he can’t do some of the things that modern NBA big men are expected to do. He isn’t a post up guy who is going to punish opponents on the block like Cousins, and he isn’t a stretch big that is going to knock down jumpers and spread the floor.

The Kings didn’t draft him for his offense, though — Sacramento needs help on the defensive end. Cousins has improved over the course of his career and has gotten better at rotating over and at least getting in the way. Unfortunately, he still isn’t a rim protector, an essential piece for an NBA team, and the Kings haven’t ever had that type of player to go alongside Cousins.

Willie played a huge part in the Kentucky defense last season that was one of the best in the history of college hoops. Everyone knows how good of a shot blocker Karl-Anthony Towns is, but Cauley-Stein was equally impressive protecting the paint. Not only is he 7-1, but he has elite athleticism that isn’t normal for a guy with his body size.

Adding to Cousins’ issues on the defensive end is that he can’t stick with mobile fours on the perimeter. While Willie protects the rim well, his best skill is the way he uses his athleticism to stick with guards in pick-and-rolls. With the league trending more towards switching, Cauley-Stein should be a nightmare on defense, where he’s excelled his entire career.

With Cauley-Stein’s ability to cover ground and stick in front of guards, it should help ease the burden on Cousins. He can guard mobile perimeter players and protect the rim on the help side, so all Cousins has to worry about is staying front of his man.

OFFENSE

This is where George Karl might have to get creative.

Players who can’t post up and can’t shoot aren’t uncommon nowadays in the league. Think of the likes of Rudy Gobert and Tyson Chandler — long, athletic centers who set screens and roll hard to the hoop for lobs. That’s the type of thing that Cauley-Stein will be able to do. The spacing might get tight with Cousins on the floor, but when he shifts over to center with bench units, Karl could have a more pick and roll centric offense.

If the Kings do envision him playing with Cousins, however, things get trickier. Cousins is arguably the best post up player in the league and clearly their franchise player. Sacramento is going to run the majority of stuff through their centerpiece, leaving Cauley-Stein to find a spot on the floor where he can hang out while Cousins posts up. The problem is Cauley-Stein can’t shoot. If he can’t shoot, he can’t spot up around the arc for Cousins to kick out to him when he gets double teamed.

There are a couple things that Sacramento can do to make it work. One place that Cauley-Stein can stand is in the short corner on the baseline. If he does that, Cousins can pass it to him for an open drop step dunk when his man helps.

It can also work with Koufos in the game, another big who is better operating as a screen and roll option rather than posting up. That short corner spot is a good place to be to have balance on offense and create opportunities to score for bigs. This type of big to big alley oop is the sort of offense the Kings could get with that type of spacing and positioning.

If Karl doesn’t want Cauley-Stein to park himself there, he could have him do some things similar to what Timofey Mozgov did when LeBron posted up during the Finals. Since the Cavs ran their offense through LeBron in the post and already had Tristan Thompson as the guy hanging out on the baseline, they used Mozgov as an off the ball cutter. When his man left him to go double LeBron, Mozgov cut down the lane without his man seeing him for an easy layup.

Cauley-Stein will be able to do this just fine, and with a lot more grace and agility.

BOTTOM LINE

I am a lot higher than most people on Willie’s fit with the Kings. If you have the right coach who is willing to work with the roster and play to a player’s strengths, then you can make just about anything work.

Cauley-Stein isn’t going to be knocking down threes or backing opponents down at any point in his career. But he is an athletic freak unlike few players we have seen. He has the agility and quickness to guard any position on the floor comparable to the way Dennis Rodman tortured teams in the 80s and 90s. He can serve as a pick and roll, rim runner or an off ball cutter that sneaks into spaces on the floor the defense leaves open.

Cauley-Stein definitely has a shot at making an All-NBA defense team at some point in his career, and if he proves to be able to continue these skills in the league, he might even become a player you build a defense around. That’s an ideal prospect to put alongside Cousins.