{"id":826173,"date":"2014-04-13T05:00:33","date_gmt":"2014-04-13T12:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cowbellkingdom.com\/?p=28663"},"modified":"2014-04-13T05:00:33","modified_gmt":"2014-04-13T12:00:33","slug":"sunday-musings-can-the-sacramento-kings-afford-to-let-isaiah-thomas-go","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/news\/sunday-musings-can-the-sacramento-kings-afford-to-let-isaiah-thomas-go\/","title":{"rendered":"Sunday Musings: Can the Sacramento Kings afford to let Isaiah Thomas go?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Isaiah<\/a><\/p>\n

Rookie second-round draft pick Ray McCallum has been a revelation for the Sacramento Kings. \u00a0If you listen to longtime television color commentator Jerry Reynolds<\/a><\/strong>, he will tell you that McCallum should have been a lottery pick in the less-than-stellar 2013 NBA Draft. \u00a0Given the opportunity, the 23-year-old guard has been that good.<\/p>\n

McCallum is the soup du jour. \u00a0He is the belle of the ball that has made the last 10 games palatable for fans and media alike. \u00a0So much that we brought his father on the Cowbell Kingdom podcast<\/a> earlier this week.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really keep it simple,\u201d Ray McCallum Sr. said of the advice he gives his son. \u00a0\u201cPlaying hard, being a hustle guy, being a worker, making good decisions and doing things that give your team a chance to win. \u00a0It\u2019s all about winning (and) making winning plays. \u00a0And I think that\u2019s what he\u2019s trying to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

In all honesty, McCallum has shown potential, but he is no Isaiah Thomas. \u00a0Not yet at least, and that fact has been lost on plenty of folks.<\/p>\n

Can McCallum develop further? \u00a0Absolutely. \u00a0Does he have a higher ceiling than the 5-foot-9-inch former Husky star? \u00a0I\u2019m not sure. \u00a0But the real question that people should be asking isn\u2019t an either-or; it is how do the Kings keep them both and build from here.<\/p>\n

For now, Thomas is the better player and should enter the 2014-15 season as the starter. \u00a0He may be a placeholder for McCallum and then again, he may continue to improve and become the All-Star-caliber player that his numbers indicate that he is.<\/p>\n

McCallum can continue to develop, while playing both guard positions. \u00a0For now, McCallum has answered a major question for the Kings next season. \u00a0He is the backup point guard with potential to be much more.<\/p>\n

In two seasons, he may be ready to steal away the starting job and enjoy a huge payday of his own. But keep in mind that his value will be tempered by the fact that he will never have a breakout statistical season with Thomas in tow.<\/p>\n

If the moment happens where McCallum forces his way into the starting position, then the Kings will relegate Thomas to a super-sixth man, the position that many believe he is better suited to play.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a win-win situation that should probably be answered two or three years down the road and not this early in the process.<\/p>\n

Keeping McCallum is easy for the Kings. \u00a0Pete D\u2019Alessandro made a spectacular decision when he tied up the former Detroit Mercy star with a three-year deal. \u00a0Geoff Petrie<\/a><\/strong> made the same decision with Thomas in 2011, and the return on investment has been astronomical.<\/p>\n

McCallum will make less than $2 million over the next two seasons combined. \u00a0When his contract ends, he will enter the summer of 2016 as a restricted free agent. \u00a0Kings fans can be rest assured that McCallum will not only be a King for the next two seasons, but he will make NBA pennies in doing so.<\/p>\n

Thomas, on the other hand, is going to cost some major cash to retain – money the new management group may not be able to come up with and money D\u2019Alessandro and his group may not be willing to hand over.<\/p>\n

But it is a mistake. \u00a0The decision shouldn\u2019t be one or the other; it should be both. \u00a0Thomas and McCallum should be the long-term future of the Kings at the point guard position, and McCallum\u2019s salary even helps make that possible.<\/p>\n

There is no one better on the open market, even if Sacramento was able to bring someone in. \u00a0Kyle Lowry<\/a><\/strong> is intriguing, but I\u2019m not sure that he is an improvement. \u00a0We have already seen that Greivis Vasquez, another free agent possibility, is not in the same league as Thomas. Maybe a bigger question would be whether either of these players would be interested in playing for the Kings.<\/p>\n

Thomas has already answered that question. \u00a0He wants to be a King. \u00a0He wants to put this team back on the map, but he has also played well beyond his current contract. \u00a0He will test the free-agent waters, because that is how the process works.<\/p>\n

What is Thomas worth? \u00a0That is for someone else to answer. \u00a0He is worth what someone is willing to pay. \u00a0And that may not work for Sacramento.<\/p>\n

If Rudy Gay opts into the final year of his contract and eats up $19.3 million of cap space, the Kings are in trouble. \u00a0They will need to somehow find a new home for one of Jason Thompson, Carl Landry, Jason Terry or Derrick Williams. \u00a0If not, they will dance with the NBA\u2019s luxury tax if they hope to retain Thomas.<\/p>\n

Over the next couple of months, there will be a great debate over who and what Thomas is as a player. \u00a0There is no question that he is worth more as a starter, but even if that is the temporary plan, there is a precedent for what a player like that is worth.<\/p>\n

If McCallum eventually becomes the starter and Thomas is relegated to a scoring-guard-off-the-bench role, he has already shown that he can thrive in that position. \u00a0Thrive in a way Terry did in Dallas or Jamal Crawford<\/a><\/strong> has done for countless teams.<\/p>\n

Over the course of his career, Terry made $7.5 million or more eight times, including a maximum of $11.1 million for the 2011-12 seasons. \u00a0Crawford has made over $7 million in a season five times in his career and broken the $10 million mark twice. \u00a0This might be the range for a scorer that can both start or play at an elite level as a reserve.<\/p>\n

Your gut reaction may be to focus on the height of Thomas versus these two players. \u00a0But I think we can all agree that where that issue really comes into play is on the defensive end. \u00a0And quite honestly, neither Terry nor Crawford has ever played defense at the level that Thomas does.<\/p>\n

The Kings are faced with a difficult decision this summer: \u00a0Do they pay Isaiah Thomas or do they hope that Ray McCallum develops quickly enough to make him a starter next season? \u00a0As long as Thomas\u2019 contract is within reason, it shouldn\u2019t be a debate.<\/p>\n

Sacramento has a player that wants to be here. \u00a0He has performed at a high level and both the fans and his teammates love him. \u00a0He is a leader and maybe more importantly, he is versatile.<\/p>\n

This shouldn\u2019t be an either-or proposition. \u00a0There is room for both of these players. \u00a0The Sacramento Kings are better with both of these players.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s too early to decide between Ray McCallum and Isaiah Thomas.<\/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":[610259419,5204276,610259426,35890,610259421,790026,522941,938774,610259639,610259429,610259569,1419908,610259433,4957930,610260258,1419906,610259987],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nSunday Musings: Can the Sacramento Kings afford to let Isaiah Thomas go? - 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\/sunday-musings-can-the-sacramento-kings-afford-to-let-isaiah-thomas-go\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Sunday Musings: Can the Sacramento Kings afford to let Isaiah Thomas go?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/news\/sunday-musings-can-the-sacramento-kings-afford-to-let-isaiah-thomas-go\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Sports Daily\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-04-13T12:00:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/cowbellkingdom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/it_standing_650x433.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=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/news\/sunday-musings-can-the-sacramento-kings-afford-to-let-isaiah-thomas-go\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/news\/sunday-musings-can-the-sacramento-kings-afford-to-let-isaiah-thomas-go\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Alan Draper\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/#\/schema\/person\/2c8aadde2571800d0de74323730df7b5\"},\"headline\":\"Sunday Musings: Can the Sacramento Kings afford to let Isaiah Thomas go?\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-04-13T12:00:33+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-04-13T12:00:33+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/news\/sunday-musings-can-the-sacramento-kings-afford-to-let-isaiah-thomas-go\/\"},\"wordCount\":1123,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/news\/sunday-musings-can-the-sacramento-kings-afford-to-let-isaiah-thomas-go\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/cowbellkingdom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/it_standing_650x433.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Carl Landry\",\"DeMarcus Cousins\",\"Derrick Williams\",\"Featured\",\"Geoff Petrie\",\"Greivis Vasquez\",\"Isaiah Thomas\",\"jamal crawford\",\"Jason Terry\",\"Jason Thompson\",\"Jerry Reynolds\",\"Kyle Lowry\",\"Pete D'Alessandro\",\"Ray McCallum\",\"Ray McCallum Sr.\",\"Rudy Gay\",\"Sunday Musings\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Cowbell Kingdom\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"copyrightYear\":\"2014\",\"copyrightHolder\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/#organization\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/news\/sunday-musings-can-the-sacramento-kings-afford-to-let-isaiah-thomas-go\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/news\/sunday-musings-can-the-sacramento-kings-afford-to-let-isaiah-thomas-go\/\",\"name\":\"Sunday Musings: Can the Sacramento Kings afford to let Isaiah Thomas go? 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