Jimmer Fredette will go in the lottery… but will he succeed?

General managers came out of the NBA Draft Combine saying Jimmer Fredette was brilliant in the interviews.

Then he has gone into a series of workouts for teams and impressed by holding his own against other top point guards in the draft.

He’s tried his best to answer the many questions about how his game will translate to the next level. His stock is on the rise and the question is where will he go? And once he gets there, can he be a success? Is he the next Steve Nash? The next Stephen Curry? Or the next Dan Dickau?

The high end of where he will go is No. 7 to the Sacramento Kings (which is where Draftexpress.com has him being taken). The Kings had him in for a workout and were impressed. But the questions about Fredette’s fit come to a key question in Sacramento — is he a point guard or a shooting guard?

Sacramento is already trying to figure that out with Tyreke Evans, but they want him to work more as a two. Fredette played his college ball as a shot-creating two guard, more of a scorer than a passer. If put next to Evans would they be too similar? Or could Fredette be a point guard, also work off the ball and knock down threes as Evans drives the lane? Fredette could take some of the ball-handling pressure off Evans. Don’t be shocked if the Kings take him, they want a guard to go with Evans and Fredette may be the best one available at that point.

Another possible destination is Utah at No. 12. The BYU star would be a hit in Salt Lake City. There, with Deron Williams traded and the team trying to rebuild, he could be a draw. But would he be a fit? If the Jazz take Brandon Knight with the No. 3 pick, do they really need another score-first point guard at No. 12? Or will they go another direction at No. 3 (Kemba Walker, Enes Kanter) and see Fredette as a fit with him?

The very low end of where Fredette goes is the Indiana Pacers at 15 — they like him. There they have Darren Collison as the established point guard, but Fredette could be a floor-stretching backup at first, maybe play along side him.

As we have mentioned before, Fredette needs to be in a free-flowing offensive system, one where he has the green light. He needs to run, have space to create, be able to spot up at the arc in transition (think how Dallas uses Jason Terry). Put him in a very structured system and what he does at the NBA level could be stifled. Utah could be that kind of problem.

If the Kings pick up the pace a little they could be a good fit. Indiana would be. There are other spots — Golden State at 11, Phoenix at 13 — which also could be a good fit. There are options. Fredette can shoot but he needs the freedom to do it or wherever he lands he will struggle.