Shooting Guards
When the Sacramento Kings selected the uber-athletic Ben McLemore out of Kansas (#RockChalk) 7th overall in the 2013 draft, some experts thought the Kings had finally found another young star to pair with their (now departed) disgruntled star center DeMarcus Cousins.
While McLemore did start every game in his sophomore campaign and turned in 12.1 PPG to go with 35.8% shooting from deep, he is currently averaging a mere 18.0 MPG; and has only started in 21 games. He is shooting a career best percentage from 3 at 37% this year.
A Royal Pain
While Vivek Ranadive might think Buddy Hield is the next Steph Curry (more on him in a minute), I’m not convinced the Kings should be looking to move McLemore like they are rumored to be doing.
The recently acquired Tyreke Evans is set to be an UFA, along with Ty Lawson and Darren Collison. Galloway and McLemore will be RFAs, meaning they can match any offer thrown for either player. Time will tell if the Kings are going to waive Galloway or not, but why not match an offer for a guy that’s 6-foot-5 and nearly 200 pounds that has shown he can score in bunches (22 PTs on 6-10 shooting from 3, nine rebounds, and four steals against Atlanta). While that may just be an anomaly, I think it’s a flashing neon sign that the Kings should try to expand his role, even if it’s just six extra minutes a night.
As for the “centerpiece” of the deal, Buddy Buckets (as he was affectionately nicknamed back in his Sooners days), has potential. Forget the fact he’s already 23. Hield is shooting 41.6% on catch-and-shoot 3s this season, a number that should increase (or at least be sustained) with speedy penetrating guards like Collison and Lawson kicking out to him; and could happen for the future with a younger guard like Fox or Smith next season.
Hield also shot 45.7% from 3 as a senior. Yeah, whatever. It’s college basketball. Stats are inflated. But it’s hard to ignore the stat when he attempted 322 3s that season.
Will Hield be the next Steph Curry? No. He’s not athletic…. but neither is Steph. I think J.J. Redick is a good comparison – a guy that knows he’s not that athletic but picks his shots and has made a career of coming off screens and hitting 3s and jumpers. I think Hield can do that, if not more.