Boasting a number of key rotation players and possibly at least two opening-day starters, the Kings came into summer league with a wealth of experience.
They’ve certainly experienced their share of struggles, but those difficulties have helped to further emphasize some of the problems they’ll need to solve if they are to become a playoff team. Here’s how the main guys have looked thus far:
Derrick Williams, a former No. 2 overall pick, has spent three full seasons in the NBA and is still playing at the Las Vegas Summer League. It must be frustrating and incredibly humbling, but it’s clear his game needs the work. One of his major problems is that he is widely regarded as a “tweener,” too small to play power forward and not quick enough to defend most small forwards.
Through three summer league games, Williams has played a lot of the 4 position and not looked very comfortable. In the Kings’ second game, Williams’ struggles were evident all across the board. Not only was he badly outrebounded – he grabbed two, while Noah Vonleh corralled 18 rebounds including five on the offensive end – but he committed five fouls in just 24 minutes to go with 2-of-8 shooting. He was much more aggressive in attacking the basket in the Kings’ summer league opener (he earned nine free-throw attempts), something Kings head coach Michael Malone has repeatedly implored Williams to do.
“When Derrick Williams is an attacking, aggressive player, he takes his game to another level,” Malone said after Saturday’s practice. “When he is a player that hangs out on the perimeter and settles for jump shots, he becomes somewhat of an ordinary player. So Derrick is here. It’s great that he’s here. He’s worked very hard. And I think at times it’s tough because he’s playing the 4 and trying to get a feel for the offense at that position. But when he has shown the ability to make the attempt to get to the rim and get to the foul line, he becomes a better player and we become a better team for it.”
After only taking four free throws against the Hornets, the coaching staff challenged Williams to get to the line at least 10 times in Sacramento’s third game. Although he didn’t quite achieve the challenge, he showed offensive flashes indicative of a No. 2 pick. He was decisive with his moves and totaled 17 points.
Against the D-League Select team, Williams utilized his athleticism and finesse with a beautiful spin move and a left-handed finish off the glass. Two plays later, after his team stole the ball, he darted out into transition and was rewarded with an easy dunk.
Ben McLemore, a 2013 lottery pick, came into summer league looking to show significant improvement after a subpar rookie campaign. The main criticisms of his game through one full season said he was plagued by poor ball-handling, an aversion to attacking the rim, inconsistent outside shooting and an inability to create opportunities for others.
Simply put, he’s still extremely raw and has ample room for improvement in a number of areas, especially the ones listed above. In the first two games (or maybe more accurately the first game and half of the second one), McLemore looked miserable. Against the Spurs, McLemore almost had a double-double…the bad kind. En route to an eight-turnover Friday night, he coughed the ball up in a variety of ways, including ill-advised passes and shoddy dribbling, among other methods. It was embarrassing. The second-year pro seemed to be playing too quickly. He routinely appeared out of control as if he was pressing, putting pressure on himself to score even in situations where he would’ve been better off passing or dribbling elsewhere. The second game saw a huge reduction in turnovers (three in 28 minutes), but McLemore went 0-4 from 3-point range, including one corner-3 that clanked off the side of the backboard. Late in the game, he started playing smarter and got to the basket a few times, but overall it was certainly not the game for which he’d been hoping.
Monday afternoon, McLemore seemed like a completely different player. His outside shot was working, but he was also going to the basket aggressively. He appeared composed for the first time all summer league. Unfortunately, he did finish with five turnovers in nearly 29 minutes of action – far too high a total. Again, the turnovers came as a result of poor ball-handling and inaccurate passing. While his turnover problems are a major concern (though not surprising), the 7-of-10 shooting performance should provide McLemore with added confidence going forward.
*In eight career Las Vegas Summer League games, McLemore still has not recorded an assist according to official league statistics. While there’s video evidence that in the second quarter of the Kings-Hornets game McLemore’s assist was accidentally credited to Ray McCallum (see the 40-second mark), the fact remains that his low-assist rate is a major weakness of his game.
A fair number of Kings fans were initially puzzled by the Kings’ selection of Nik Stauskas, another shooting guard taken a year after fellow lottery pick Ben McLemore. Early confusion aside, fans are starting to warm up to Stauskas and fairly quickly. Although his shot hasn’t exactly been automatic, the sharpshooter out of the University of Michigan has converted 5-of-9 long-range attempts through three games. If his 48.1 percent shooting wasn’t impressive enough, Stauskas rarely hesitates. That’s not to say that he always shoots, but if he’s going to shoot, he doesn’t psyche himself out like some young players; he’s a catch-and-shoot master, releasing the ball in rhythm.
In watching him play, it’s also clear that he possesses offensive skills that extend beyond merely being able to shoot the ball. Stauskas has generally made smart basketball decisions and has committed just two turnovers per game despite handling the ball a fair amount. While he’s certainly not the most athletic guy around, he’s impressed with various nice moves to the basket. Defensively, Stauskas still has a ton to learn, but he’s already a lot better defender than McLemore. Coach Malone has repeatedly said that if Stauskas were to gain 10-15 pounds of muscle, he would greatly benefit, particularly on the defensive end.
Ray McCallum is another key rotation player who is playing for the Kings summer league squad. Late last season, an injury to starting point guard Isaiah Thomas forced McCallum into regular action, and he made the most of it, averaging 13.8 points and 7.3 assists to go with just 1.9 turnovers per game as a starter. He played a whopping 44.6 minutes per game over those 10 starts. Although McCallum shot just 36.5 percent, he mostly struggled with converting shots at the rim (he did shoot a robust 35.7 percent from 3). At 6-foot-3 (on a good day), the rookie point guard had to adjust to scoring over all the trees inside, and he did improve in that area, at least minimally. Through three summer league games, McCallum’s inside-finishing struggles have continued. He’s made many excellent moves to get to the basket, but far too often is not able to finish the play.
The coach’s son (Ray McCallum Sr. serves as head coach for the University of Detroit Mercy, Ray Jr.’s alma mater) has been careful with the ball as usual, committing just two turnovers per game thus far. Although he wasn’t able to record many assists in the first two games (four total), his team’s poor shooting was just as much to blame as he was. Against the D-League Select team, however, the 6-3 point guard may have had eyes not just on the front of his face, as he recorded 12 dimes in fewer than 30 minutes of action. McCallum’s court vision was on point, but it certainly doesn’t hurt when guys are making shots. The Kings, who didn’t make their first field goal until the 2:32 mark of the first quarter (yeah, seriously), hit from all over the court the rest of the way to finish with 89 points in a 40-minute summer league game.
Standing at just 6-foot-7, Quincy Acy, typically a power forward, has been tasked with starting at center for the Kings summer league squad. While Acy has impressed with a smooth outside shot through three games, his coach often prefers him to stay near the basket on offense, given his role on this particular summer league squad. “I told him today, ‘When he’s our starting center, which he is for our summer league team, we need him on the rim,’” said Malone. “He can’t be picking and popping like he’s Dirk Nowitzki. That’s great that he put time in on his game and he’s developing that, but we also need him to do what’s best for our team, which is to screen, roll and put pressure on the rim to generate shots for himself or for his teammates.”
Defensively, he’s been decent, if not a little underwhelming. For some time, the Kings have been looking for a defensive-minded, rim-protecting big man to pair with DeMarcus Cousins. Jason Thompson plays solid defense, but for years has been unable to retain a starting spot. Through the first three games, Acy recorded just one total block and fouled more than the Kings would like, at a clip of five times per game in a little more than 28 minutes per contest. Acy will be 24 years old when the regular season begins, and his contact is not fully guaranteed through the year. That’s why finishing the summer league strong is paramount for him if he hopes to stay in the league for years to come.
MarShon Brooks isn’t likely to make the Kings’ roster, but at 25 years old, he does find himself at a critical point in his career. The major knock on his game is that it’s one-dimensional. He can score, but what else does he really do? Brooks hasn’t done enough to dispel that criticism, but he hasn’t played poorly either. After being limited to 11 minutes due to foul trouble against the Spurs, he scored 11 and 8 points, respectively, over the next two games, on 6-of-10 shooting. Unfortunately, he only averaged two rebounds and one assist in those two games.
Eric Moreland won’t likely make the Kings’ roster either, but he’s played hard, hoping to defy the odds. The lanky power forward/center is 6-10 with very long arms. After sitting out the summer league opener, he’s seen nearly 20 minutes per game over his last two outings. While he hasn’t taken too many shots, his rebounding has impressed. The Oregon State product grabbed 11 rebounds in 18.5 minutes Monday afternoon, including four on the offensive glass. The day before, he grabbed nine more boards in 21 minutes. Such rebounding has been invaluable to a team with not too many other skilled rebounders.
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