Willie Cauley-Stein on Kristaps Porzingis: ‘I have the same body size, the same skill-level’

What’s the difference between Kristaps Porzingis (No. 4 pick by Knicks in 2015) and Willie Cauley-Stein (No. 6 pick by Kings in 2015) now?

Cauley-Stein, via Howie Kussoy of the New York Post:

“I think I just gotta get more selfish,” said Cauley-Stein, who hit 2-of-6 shots, and is averaging 8.9 points this season. “Offensively, I gotta get to the point that I’m just going at dudes like him. Guarding him, and then watching his game, you take away, oh, this is what he’s doing. I have the same body size, the same skill-level, just transfer it over to a game now. But being behind in the race, he’s been doing it for a while.”

“This league’s all about situations,” Cauley-Stein said. “I went to a situation where I’m playing behind the best center in the league [DeMarcus Cousins], or I could’ve gone to somewhere where they don’t have a guy, and now you’re the guy, and you’re getting all the touches. That helps a lot.

This is obviously absurd. Cauley-Stein has never made a 3-pointer in the NBA, and his free-throw percentage is 15 points lower than Porzingis’. Cauley-Stein isn’t nearly as skilled as Porzingis, whose sweet shooting and ball-handling have earned him unicorn status.

That said, Cauley-Stein has shown promise in a small sample of long 2s. He’s an adept passer for his size. I’d be shocked if Cauley-Stein ever reaches Porzingis’ level, but it might behoove him and Sacramento (3-9) to increase his role. Cauley-Stein might look closer to Porzingis than expected when they were rookies.