Ben McLemore

Ben McLemore
SG, 6’5, 195lbs, 24 years old, 4 years of experience

Having had four years to win the Kings’ shooting guard spot for the future, McLemore has not done so. In fact, he might not even have won a spot in the league. In a league that wants three-and-D role players out of its non-star wings, McLemore has shown he is neither of these things. He doesn’t mind running around on defence but loses his man so ridiculously often in doing so. Although he has improved his three-point shoot-ing efficiency for four straight years up to a healthy 38.2% this past season, he does not do good enough work with his athleticism to actually get open, and is a volume scorer at best. And he failed the occasional point-guard fill-ins he was tasked with. McLemore just doesn’t show good decision making, on either end, and just isn’t that skilled with the ball either. Maybe he can stick around as a shooting reclamation project.

Player Plan: Entering unrestricted free agency and there is no reason to bring him back. Someone else might try and make a reclamation project out of him. Good luck to them.

[...] Furthermore, despite the good play from the Kings' other two primary scorers, Isaiah Thomas and Rudy Gay (whose career in Sacramento is off to a surprisingly fantastic start), neither is known for their consistent creation of open looks for others. Thomas can do it, but would rather not, preferring to be a score first player. The two guard combination of Marcus Thornton and Ben McLemore most certainly are not playmakers for others. And Thompson, as the fifth starter, is the one who loses out.

On the most basic level, the Sacramento Kings needed more talent. They now have that. Even after years of mismanagement and the frivolous burning of assets, Sacramento now has, you would think, a core five. Isaiah Thomas, one of the draft steals of the decade and a man who thoroughly outplayed Vasquez thus far this season, is the point guard. Preconceptions that small score-first guards must come of the bench should be disposed of, because Thomas is a legitimate starter. Rookie Ben McLemore has had a slow first month, but has plenty of time on his side to be the two guard of the future while Gay slots in at small forward. Derrick Williams is thriving since his trade from Minnesota, now that he is finally functioning as a full time power forward. DeMarcus Cousins is tied into a maximum contract extension, the certified core piece going forward. Marcus Thornton, Jason Thompson and Carl Landry compliment this lineup from the bench with quality role player production, creating a front eight of players that any team could use.