The Sacramento Kings keep wheeling and dealing. The team has traded Ray McCallum to the San Antonio Spurs for a 2016 second round pick, according to ESPN’s Marc Stein and the team.
McCallum was drafted 36th overall out of Detroit Mercy in 2013, the same class as his friend Ben McLemore. For the past two seasons, the 24-year-old began the year buried on the depth chart and emerged by April as the Kings starter. In 2014-15, McCallum appeared in 68 games (30 starts) and produced 7.4 points, 2.6 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 0.7 steals and 1.3 turnovers in 21.1 minutes.
The 6-foot-3, 190-pounder made a name for himself as a slasher and on-ball defender, but his outside shooting needed work. He hit 30.6 percent of his 1.6 3-point attempts per game last season, after making 37.3 percent on 1.3 average attempts as a rookie. Upon winning the starting job in mid-February, McCallum picked up his offensive efficiency at the cost of his defensive prowess.
Still, when given the chance the tremendous athlete wowed many. In his fourth start last season, McCallum scored 20 points on 10-of-17 field goals in a February 27 loss at San Antonio. The Spurs had a hole in their backcourt after Cory Joseph signed a four-year, $30 million deal to play for Toronto, so adding the promising youngster to run backup point at the cost of a late pick was logical.
As for Sacramento, the signing of Rajon Rondo made McCallum expendable. With Darren Collison as the probable top reserve, the Kings will likely hold a competition for the third point guard role between David Stockton, Julyan Stone and possibly free agent Andre Miller.
McCallum is entering the final year of a three-year rookie contract set to pay him $947,276 in 2015-16.
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