KINGS: Giles’ knee injuries are a concern
with those picks. The Kings then took another point guard in the second round, selecting Kansas’ Frank Mason III with the 34th overall pick.
“We are building here something special,” Divac said. “You can’t do it overnight or in a month or in a year. We started last year and we just want to add talent to what we have.”
Point guard was the biggest need coming into the night for the Kings with Darren Collison, Ty Lawson and Langston Galloway all headed to unrestricted free agency next month.
“I know it’s going to be tough to change a team, but for me I wanted to come in and be able to affect the game right away,” Fox said. “A lot of people say I could be a franchise changer, and that’s what I really want to be.”
Fox is extremely quick and a skilled ball handler who showed the ability to get to the basket in his one season at Kentucky. He averaged 16.7 points, 4.6 assists and 4.0 rebounds per game. His biggest weakness is his outside shot after hitting just 24.6 percent of his 3- pointers last season.
Fox boosted his stock when he outplayed UCLA’s Lonzo Ball in the Sweet Sixteen, scoring 39 points in a Wildcats win. But Ball still went ahead of him at second overall to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Jackson, who played on an AAU team with Fox, gives the Kings a wing scorer to replace Rudy Gay, who declined his $14.3 million option to become an unrestricted free agent. Jackson averaged 18.3 points and 4.7 rebounds as a junior for NCAA champion North Carolina last season.
Giles was once one of the top prospects in his class before being hobbled by knee injuries. He played sparingly in his only season at Duke, missing the start of the season recovering from an injury and averaging just 11.5 minutes per game in his 26 contests. He averaged 3.9 points and 3.8 rebounds per game.
The Kings worked Giles out and were confident in his health.
“I’m so excited he was there for us,” Divac said. “At 20, that kind of talent, you can’t pass.”