{"id":826080,"date":"2014-03-13T10:00:45","date_gmt":"2014-03-13T17:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cowbellkingdom.com\/?p=27775"},"modified":"2014-03-13T10:00:45","modified_gmt":"2014-03-13T17:00:45","slug":"is-ben-mclemore-the-next-gerald-green","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/news\/is-ben-mclemore-the-next-gerald-green\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Ben McLemore the next Gerald Green?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Ben<\/a>
\nWithout fail, the most entertaining moment of draft season comes when a player compares himself to an NBA great.\u00a0 It usually goes something like, “I just want to be the best version of [insert name of rookie speaking in the third person] that I can be…but if I had to compare my game to someone, it would be Michael Jordan<\/strong>, but with LeBron James<\/a><\/strong>‘ size.”\u00a0 It’s a softball question, but every year, a handful of players bite.<\/p>\n

It’s human nature to make comparisons.\u00a0 As a writer or an analyst, we often try to place a player’s game in some sort of historical context.\u00a0 After all, there are only so many player types out there.\u00a0 Typically what we see is a variation on something we have seen before.\u00a0 Be it a similar size, body type, skill set or movement to a player, almost every player in the league has a doppelganger of sorts.<\/p>\n

It is the outlier that truly stands out.\u00a0 There will only be one LeBron James<\/a><\/strong> or Shaquille O’Neal<\/a><\/strong>.\u00a0 There is a uniqueness to their size, strength and skill set that will most likely never be replicated.\u00a0 But players like that are few and far between.<\/p>\n

For the rest of the players, we need only to sift through data and study the the look and feel of the player to find a comparison.<\/p>\n

I have gone on record as saying that Derrick Williams reminds me of a young Gerald Wallace.\u00a0 Not the 19-year-old Alabama product that couldn’t stay upright in his early days with the Kings, but the early 20’s Wallace that started to excel in the league.<\/p>\n

Both players have a reckless abandon to their game.\u00a0 Williams is more under control, but only slightly.\u00a0 Both players have incredible athleticism and both players shoot their jumper completely off-balanced.<\/p>\n

It wasn’t until his fifth year in the league that Wallace fully got his feet planted on the ground.\u00a0 And it wasn’t until his ninth season that Wallace finally found the range on his 3-point shot.<\/p>\n

I believe that Williams is a few years ahead of where Wallace was at the same age, and I am intrigued to see what he looks like three seasons from now as a 25-year-old.<\/p>\n

In basketball conversations this week, it was brought to my attention that Kings rookie Ben McLemore’s game bears a striking resemblance to the Phoenix Suns’ Gerald Green<\/a><\/strong>.\u00a0 That may alarm some folks, but it should also provide a possible trajectory for the 21-year-old McLemore.<\/p>\n

Like Green, McLemore is blessed with incredible balance, athleticism and a solid perimeter stroke.\u00a0 He is a player who has won a slam dunk championship, but could also compete in a 3-point shootout.\u00a0 One of the last high school players allowed to come straight to the NBA, Green began his career as a 20-year-old rookie with the Boston Celtics during the 2005-06 season.<\/p>\n

Green made major strides in his sophomore season, averaging 10.4 points on 41.9 percent shooting from the field and 36.8 percent from long range for the Celtics.\u00a0 But after being dealt to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Kevin Garnett<\/a><\/strong> deal, his career was sidetracked by instability.<\/p>\n

After playing for three teams in two seasons, Green spent the 2009-10 and 2010-11 seasons playing in Russia and the D-League before getting another shot in the NBA at age 26 in 2012.<\/p>\n

Green has now found a home in Phoenix, averaging 15.7 points on 44.4 percent shooting from the field and 39.3 percent from downtown.<\/p>\n

I’m not proposing that McLemore will take nine years of professional basketball, including stops in the development league, Europe and chances with seven different NBA teams before finding a home in the league.\u00a0 But like Green, he is going to take time to develop.<\/p>\n

As was the case with Green early in his career, McLemore struggles with both dribbling and ball-catching skills that are necessary for an elite wing player.\u00a0 The raw skills are there, but there is a huge difference between competent and NBA level.\u00a0 As he stands today, McLemore is completely dependent on other players to create shots for him.<\/p>\n

On the defensive end, the game is still moving at the speed of light for McLemore.\u00a0 Despite playing in 65 games, including 38 starts, McLemore is still making basic mistakes, multiple times per game.\u00a0 That is more than the equivalent of two college seasons, but he is out of control and unfocused on the defensive end and the Kings’ opposition is eating him alive on most nights.<\/p>\n

McLemore still has 17 games to show improvement.\u00a0 But while he is finding his game, the Kings are forced to assess whether he is ready to play major minutes next season, or if they need to look to a veteran to bridge the development gap.<\/p>\n

While that assessment is still incomplete, it is clear that the Kings do not have the right pieces in place to support the player that McLemore is today and will continue to be for the next three to four seasons.<\/p>\n

With Isaiah Thomas, Rudy Gay and DeMarcus Cousins in place, the Kings are built for isolation basketball and they thrive in the pick and roll.\u00a0 Neither of these sets play to McLemore’s strengths.\u00a0 In fact, they play to his weaknesses.<\/p>\n

As of today, the Sacramento Kings need a ball-handling defensive specialist who can stretch the defense with consistent long-range shooting.\u00a0 That is not who McLemore is now and he may never be that player.<\/p>\n

McLemore needs a motion offense.\u00a0 He needs cuts and fast break opportunities and he needs his teammates to make him better.\u00a0 That may not be who he is in four or five years, but then again, it probably is.<\/p>\n

If Green is a blueprint of the player that McLemore will become, the Kings need to plan accordingly with their roster moves. Just as important, they need to be patient.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sacramento Kings rookie compares well to Phoenix veteran wing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[610259261],"tags":[34017575,5204276,610259426,35890,1070735,610259771,522941,288632,142718,63135,1419906,76563,207960],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nIs Ben McLemore the next Gerald Green? - The Sports Daily<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/news\/is-ben-mclemore-the-next-gerald-green\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Is Ben McLemore the next Gerald Green?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/news\/is-ben-mclemore-the-next-gerald-green\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Sports Daily\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-03-13T17:00:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/cowbellkingdom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/ben_mclemore_runs.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Alan Draper\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@sportsdailytsd\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@sportsdailytsd\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Alan Draper\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/news\/is-ben-mclemore-the-next-gerald-green\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/news\/is-ben-mclemore-the-next-gerald-green\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Alan Draper\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/#\/schema\/person\/2c8aadde2571800d0de74323730df7b5\"},\"headline\":\"Is Ben McLemore the next Gerald Green?\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-03-13T17:00:45+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-03-13T17:00:45+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/news\/is-ben-mclemore-the-next-gerald-green\/\"},\"wordCount\":982,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/news\/is-ben-mclemore-the-next-gerald-green\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/cowbellkingdom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/ben_mclemore_runs.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Ben McLemore\",\"DeMarcus Cousins\",\"Derrick Williams\",\"Featured\",\"Gerald Green\",\"Gerald Wallace\",\"Isaiah Thomas\",\"Kevin Garnett\",\"LeBron James\",\"Michael Jordan\",\"Rudy Gay\",\"sacramento kings\",\"Shaquille O'Neal\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Cowbell Kingdom\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"copyrightYear\":\"2014\",\"copyrightHolder\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/#organization\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/news\/is-ben-mclemore-the-next-gerald-green\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/news\/is-ben-mclemore-the-next-gerald-green\/\",\"name\":\"Is Ben McLemore the next Gerald Green? - The Sports Daily\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/news\/is-ben-mclemore-the-next-gerald-green\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/news\/is-ben-mclemore-the-next-gerald-green\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/cowbellkingdom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/ben_mclemore_runs.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-03-13T17:00:45+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-03-13T17:00:45+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/news\/is-ben-mclemore-the-next-gerald-green\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/news\/is-ben-mclemore-the-next-gerald-green\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/news\/is-ben-mclemore-the-next-gerald-green\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/cowbellkingdom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/ben_mclemore_runs.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\/\/cowbellkingdom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/ben_mclemore_runs.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/news\/is-ben-mclemore-the-next-gerald-green\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Is Ben McLemore the next Gerald Green?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/\",\"name\":\"The Sports Daily\",\"description\":\"Sports News | Rumors | Videos | Highlights | Opinion | More\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"The Sports Daily\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/cropped-thesportsdaily_logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/cropped-thesportsdaily_logo.png\",\"width\":300,\"height\":52,\"caption\":\"The Sports Daily\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/sportsdailytsd\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/#\/schema\/person\/2c8aadde2571800d0de74323730df7b5\",\"name\":\"Alan Draper\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/alan-draper-96x96.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/alan-draper-96x96.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Alan Draper\"},\"description\":\"Alan is a vastly experienced sports and gambling writer who is the Chief Editor of The Sports Daily.\",\"sameAs\":[\"\",\"\",\"\",\"\",\"\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/author\/aland\/\",\"jobTitle\":\"Sports Editor\",\"email\":\"\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Is Ben McLemore the next Gerald Green? - The Sports Daily","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/news\/is-ben-mclemore-the-next-gerald-green\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Is Ben McLemore the next Gerald Green?","og_url":"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/news\/is-ben-mclemore-the-next-gerald-green\/","og_site_name":"The Sports Daily","article_published_time":"2014-03-13T17:00:45+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/cowbellkingdom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/ben_mclemore_runs.jpg"}],"author":"Alan Draper","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@sportsdailytsd","twitter_site":"@sportsdailytsd","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Alan Draper","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/news\/is-ben-mclemore-the-next-gerald-green\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/news\/is-ben-mclemore-the-next-gerald-green\/"},"author":{"name":"Alan Draper","@id":"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/#\/schema\/person\/2c8aadde2571800d0de74323730df7b5"},"headline":"Is Ben McLemore the next Gerald Green?","datePublished":"2014-03-13T17:00:45+00:00","dateModified":"2014-03-13T17:00:45+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/news\/is-ben-mclemore-the-next-gerald-green\/"},"wordCount":982,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/news\/is-ben-mclemore-the-next-gerald-green\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/cowbellkingdom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/ben_mclemore_runs.jpg","keywords":["Ben McLemore","DeMarcus Cousins","Derrick Williams","Featured","Gerald Green","Gerald Wallace","Isaiah Thomas","Kevin Garnett","LeBron James","Michael Jordan","Rudy Gay","sacramento kings","Shaquille O'Neal"],"articleSection":["Cowbell Kingdom"],"inLanguage":"en-US","copyrightYear":"2014","copyrightHolder":{"@id":"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/#organization"}},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/news\/is-ben-mclemore-the-next-gerald-green\/","url":"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/news\/is-ben-mclemore-the-next-gerald-green\/","name":"Is Ben McLemore the next Gerald Green? - The Sports Daily","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/news\/is-ben-mclemore-the-next-gerald-green\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/news\/is-ben-mclemore-the-next-gerald-green\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/cowbellkingdom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/ben_mclemore_runs.jpg","datePublished":"2014-03-13T17:00:45+00:00","dateModified":"2014-03-13T17:00:45+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/news\/is-ben-mclemore-the-next-gerald-green\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/news\/is-ben-mclemore-the-next-gerald-green\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/news\/is-ben-mclemore-the-next-gerald-green\/#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/cowbellkingdom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/ben_mclemore_runs.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/cowbellkingdom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/ben_mclemore_runs.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/news\/is-ben-mclemore-the-next-gerald-green\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Is Ben McLemore the next Gerald Green?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/","name":"The Sports Daily","description":"Sports News | Rumors | Videos | Highlights | Opinion | More","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/#organization","name":"The Sports Daily","url":"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/cropped-thesportsdaily_logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/cropped-thesportsdaily_logo.png","width":300,"height":52,"caption":"The Sports Daily"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/twitter.com\/sportsdailytsd"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/#\/schema\/person\/2c8aadde2571800d0de74323730df7b5","name":"Alan Draper","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/alan-draper-96x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/alan-draper-96x96.jpg","caption":"Alan Draper"},"description":"Alan is a vastly experienced sports and gambling writer who is the Chief Editor of The Sports Daily.","sameAs":["","","","",""],"url":"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/author\/aland\/","jobTitle":"Sports Editor","email":"","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":""}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/826080"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=826080"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/826080\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=826080"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=826080"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=826080"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}