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2017 NBA free agency grades: Grizzlies to sign Ben McLemore

By Nicholas Agar-Johnson

SACRAMENTO, CA - OCTOBER 27: Ben McLemore #23 of the Sacramento Kings warms up prior to the start of an NBA basketball game against the San Antonio Spurs at Golden 1 Center on October 27, 2016 in Sacramento, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
SACRAMENTO, CA - OCTOBER 27: Ben McLemore #23 of the Sacramento Kings warms up prior to the start of an NBA basketball game against the San Antonio Spurs at Golden 1 Center on October 27, 2016 in Sacramento, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /
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Ben McLemore will sign with the Memphis Grizzlies after four years in Sacramento. The move is a low-risk, high-reward signing for Memphis.

After four up-and-down years with the Sacramento Kings, Ben McLemore entered unrestricted free agency once the Kings pulled his qualifying offer.

The Memphis Grizzlies quickly pounced on the 24-year-old. According to ESPN‘s Adrian Wojnarowski, Memphis will sign McLemore to a two-year, $11 million contract once the moratorium ends.

With Vince Carter and Tony Allen still on the market, McLemore offers insurance for both of their departures. Troy Daniels is currently the only shooting guard on their roster, so McLemore will likely get major playing time in Memphis.

McLemore is a solid three-point shooter who shot 38.2 percent from deep last year and 36.5 percent after his dismal rookie season. While he has failed to grasp NBA-level defense up to this point in his career, he is a superb athlete who never played in a real defensive scheme before this season under Dave Joerger.

Despite being selected with the seventh overall pick in the 2013 draft, Sacramento never appeared to have much faith in McLemore. They famously drafted Nik Stauskas in 2014, but McLemore outplayed him and started all 82 games that season. McLemore saw his role reduced under George Karl in the 2015-16 season. His minutes dropped even further in this past season with Buddy Hield in the fold.

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    • The Grizzlies are finally incorporating three-point shooting into their offense under David Fizdale. Memphis was basically league-average from three in 2016-17 (14th in attempts and 17th in percentage) after ignoring those shots the year before (25th in attempts and 29th in percentage).

    McLemore has not yet shown much beyond a jump shot and his athletic potential. However, he never seemed to have the confidence of the Sacramento coaching staff. Memphis could easily re-vitalize his career with a steadier role. Even if McLemore fails to meet expectations, Memphis is only on the hook for two seasons.

    Since Sacramento did not offer McLemore a qualifying offer, it stands to reason that his value around the league was not that high. McLemore has one of the worst handles of any guard in the league. He has minimal passing vision at best, as his career average of 1.2 assists per game shows.

    McLemore is also a poor defender, with a Defensive Real Plus-Minus of -1.58 and a tendency to look even worse on film. He would frequently miss switches, and fail to use his athletic abilities effectively on the defensive end.

    That being said, McLemore has not had much of a chance to develop in the NBA. He played for four different head coaches in his four years in Sacramento. He saw repeated fluctuations in his role and also watched the Kings repeatedly bring in shooting guard prospects during his tenure there.

    Chris Wallace has always been a fan of top high school prospects whose value declined while in the NBA. McLemore fits that description nearly perfectly. Furthermore, there are plenty of good reasons to expect that he could be better than what he showed in Sacramento.

    Ben McLemore has yet to live up to his pedigree as a top-10 draft pick. However, the shaky situation in Sacramento hurt McLemore’s value more than nearly any other Kings prospect. He will come to Memphis with minimal expectations and an easy path to playing time. Even if he continues to fall short of expectations, he is only under contract for two years.

    Next: 2017 NBA free agency tracker - Grades for every deal so far

    While Memphis could have gotten a better deal by letting McLemore sit in free agency for a little bit longer, they still got solid upside value at a position of need.

    Grade: B-

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