The two players who've come closest (and put up similar overall stat-lines), Hasheem Thabeet last year (11.9) and Patrick O'Bryant in 2005 (13.3), have had very limited pro success to date.
Thabeet, the number two overall pick in 2009, swatted a paltry 0.8 shots per game in 25 minutes of action (1.3 per 40 minutes) — exactly as many as the Kings' Thompson and Donté Greene — to go along with 8.2 points and 4.6 rebounds in the Summer League. He was then infamously sent down to the NBDL during the regular season, finishing his disappointing first-year campaign with modest averages of 3.1 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks per game (4.0 per 40 minutes; 7.7 block rate).
O'Bryant, who was selected ninth overall, ranked 10th in blocks per game (1.4; 2.5 per 40 minutes) in the 2006 Summer League, but has gone on to play very sparingly in the regular season ever since. He's produced just 2.1 points, 1.4 rebounds, and 0.4 blocks (3.1 per 40 minutes; 5.8 block rate) in 5.8 minutes per game for three teams over the course of his four-year career. O'Bryant is currently trying to earn an NBA roster spot by playing on the Minnesota Timberwolves Vegas team.
Needless to say, history hasn't been kind to primarily shot-blocking big men, and Whiteside will need to bulk up in order to compete with much more physical NBA centers or risk getting sent down to the Kings' Development League affiliate, the Reno Bighorns. As for Cousins, as one of the most NBA-ready prospects in the Draft, he should compete for the Rookie of the Year award with John Wall and Blake Griffin from the onset. It's unrealistic to gauge how much the Kings rookies will play or how well either will perform during the regular season, but the Summer League could go a long way towards answering both questions.
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