Sacramento Kings: Ray McCallum Helps Fans Forget Jimmer
Draft
Again after his junior season McCallum declared for the NBA draft, at the time many thought he was a potential late first round pick to early second round pick. Many thought that McCallum could use one more year in college to work on his game. But he had many positive things about him that came out during the draft process. According to draft expert Chad Ford of ESPN, McCallum is a heady point guard with great basketball IQ, unselfish floor leader, and high motor. He was ranked in the 40’s on many draft boards and was looked to come off the board around the 50th pick or later. However, the Kings were looking for a pass first point guard and decided to take McCallum with the 36th overall pick. Now at the time the Kings had three other point guards on the roster so it looked like McCallum would be playing more in the D-League than in the NBA. Even with the potential of no playing time the pick was still looked at in a favorable way. Chad Ford said “The Kings wanted a point guard, and McCallum is one of the purest point guards in the draft. He’s not the sexist pick, but he’s a steady floor leader who is very unselfish.”
Rookie Season
The Kings were starting Greivis Vasquez at the start of the season with Isaiah Thomas coming off the bench. Furthermore they had Fredette behind both of them, so McCallum was buried deep on the Kings bench. Therefore, to give him some playing time the Kings sent him down to the D-League in November and January. Then during the season that Kings traded away Vasquez and then bought out Fredette so just like that McCallum found himself with playing time. McCallum over the past five games he is averaging 25.8 minutes and he is making the most of his minutes. He is averaging nine points, 3.4 assists, and 2.8 rebounds during those five games. Furthermore, he has been shooting the ball better than expected, as he is shooting 56% from three on 5-9 shooting. I think the Kings are doing the right thing by giving McCallum minutes to show he could be Thomas’ backup for the future. In addition McCallum might show he could be a starter for the Kings if they have to let Thomas go in free agency. I believe that Kings might need more of pass first point guard, with DeMarcus Cousins, Rudy Gay, and other scorers. Furthermore, McCallum with his athleticism could also be a shutdown defender, which the Kings could really use. It will be interesting to see what McCallum does over these couple of months and next season to see if the Kings found a starter in the second round.
Royce White
The Kings signed former first round pick Royce White yesterday to a 10 day contract. White was selected by the Houston Rockets in the 2012 draft with the 16th overall selection. Now White has never played in an NBA game, due to an anxiety disorder which makes it hard for him to travel. However, White is considered to have NBA talent since he is 6’ 8” 260 pounds and played well at Iowa State where he averaged 13 points and nine rebounds per game. The Kings are simply giving White a chance to prove he can be a professional basketball player, mainly off the court. This is a risk worth taking, if the Kings can be patience with White, he could be a productive player very soon.