Will McLemore’s ceiling hold the Kings down?
The Kings gave up their second best player, SG Tyreke Evans, for a talented, yet underrated passer and two future second round picks. They then replaced Evans with a player that has possibly the largest floor-to-ceiling range of anyone in the draft this year in SG Ben McLemore. But wait, there’s more to this story of mediocrity that the Kings have pursued these past few months.
Free Agency
PG Toney Douglas, a player who arrived in the Houston-Sacramento trade back in February, became a free agent and will not be returning. This is for the best; Douglas is nothing more than a backup in this league, and the Kings already have too many point guards. Another less-utilized player, C Cole Aldrich, is currently a free agent that was not re-signed by the Kings this off-season. Carl Landry was signed for four years and $26 million total to shore up the front court with C Demarcus Cousins. That being said, the Kings have to think that they’ll be ready to compete within three years in order for this signing to make sense. It would be a stretch to consider that at this point, but Landry is a talented player that can help the transition. That being said, I don’t see it as a wise decision as of now.
Free Agency Grade C-
Trade
One of the bigger trades of the summer occurred when the Kings completed a sign-and-trade with Evans in order to ship him to New Orleans in a three-team trade that sent PG Greivis Vasquez to Sacramento along with two future second-round picks from the Trail Blazers. This move shed quite a bit of potential salary that the Kings weren’t willing to pay Evans and in return, they received (finally) a pass-first PG as well as two essentially unimportant picks with low risk and semi-low reward. I believe in Vasquez more than most considering he dished nearly ten assists per contest last year on a Hornets roster with very little scoring talent. He actually may have less this year, but he also could help McLemore gain confidence in his shot with well-placed passes. The Kings also made a trade for a small forward in hopes of improving their situation at the three spot when they received Luc Richard Mbah a Moute (best NBA player name award nominee) for a second-round pick in both 2016 and 2018, potentially high second-round picks, but nothing to lose sleep over giving away. Mbah a Moute could be their starter, but that speaks to the depth and talent issues of the Kings more so than his overall talent level.
Trade Grade B+
Draft
Ben McLemore is the inherent replacement for the loss of Tyreke Evans. With the pressure of pick number seven in this year’s draft, the organization will look for McLemore to contribute immediately. However, most already understand that McLemore has a year or two to develop before the team will be severely needing him to perform in order to win consistently. With this year’s predictions of subpar performance and more losing, the young shooting guard should have plenty of time to focus on his consistency and improving other facets of his game. Ray McCallum was their second round pick. McCallum is a player with a similar style to CJ McCollum (and similar last name, coincidence?). He’s a talented scorer (18.7 PPG in 2012-13) and a stat sheet stuffer (5.1 RPG and 4.5 APG in 2012-13). A possible drawback is he isn’t a prototypical point guard, but since Vasquez plays that role, utilizing McCallum as a score first point guard off the bench could work. The issue is the Kings already have Isaiah Thomas and Jimmer Fredette (two more atypical score-first point guards) on the roster, so there’s a logjam of similar players at the position..
Draft Grade C+
Summary
The Kings took some clear risks on their draft choices. While I believe McLemore is the kind of player they need for the future, he definitely is not a sure thing, although he could be the most talented shooter in this year’s draft. After trades and free agency, the Kings ended up with a lot of role players and solid starters, but aside from Cousins, this team is lacking true star power. One of the best moves of the off-season was the signing of Mike Malone. While Keith Smart only had two years to improve a lackluster team, Malone makes sense due to the Kings’ obvious lack of defensive prowess. If Malone can change the culture like he wants to, then this team can develop into a contender within 3-5 years.
Overall Off-season Grade B-
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