In a year where there’s plenty for him to prove, Ben McLemore has only added more struggles to his young career, casting further doubt over his future with the Sacramento Kings.
Despite currently being one game out of eighth place in the West, the Sacramento Kings have their work cut out for them.
Although much of the spotlight on them recently has revolved around a number of off-the-court incidents, the Kings’ struggles on the court have once again been the real story this season.
Outside of DeMarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay, the Kings have been without many consistent contributors in their supporting cast.
To add insult to injury, many of their offseason acquisitions have failed to make an effective mark for most of the year, with the lone exception being Garrett Temple.
That obviously leaves new Kings head coach Dave Joerger in a difficult position, especially with the front office and ownership hoping to make the playoffs to mark their first season in a new arena, the Golden 1 Center.
While they’ll be looking for any way to avoid following in their footsteps of the last decade, the uncertainty the Kings could potentially face if they would continue on this pace could leave them facing big decisions as the year rolls on.
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One decision for the Kings that doesn’t necessarily have the same magnitude as others have is what to do about Ben McLemore.
The seventh overall pick of the 2013 NBA Draft, McLemore’s struggles throughout his career have somewhat resembled the near-constant turnover of the Kings.
Now in his fourth season, McLemore has only continued to add to his largely unimpressive career as the once promising athletic shooting guard has struggled to get going to start the year.
Averaging a career-low 6.2 points per game, McLemore’s effectiveness shooting the ball has regressed significantly.
Shooting 32.6 percent from three as well as averaging a true shooting percentage of 50.9 percent, McLemore’s shooting percentages only rank ahead of his rookie year output, his worst season to date.
With his shooting struggles not turning around, McLemore’s playing time has dropped to a career low 16.8 minutes per game under Joerger, despite recently being inserted into the starting lineup.
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Considering the Kings’ reported resistance to deal McLemore over the offseason, his play this year hasn’t done much to suggest that his struggles lie squarely on the instability surrounding the team.
To make matters worse, the fact that this is happening in his last year of his rookie contract probably says much about what the future holds for him in Sacramento.
McLemore was one of the many players that didn’t receive a rookie extension at the start of the season, which makes him a restricted free agent in the summer.
At this point, McLemore’s not necessarily playing for his future in Sacramento, but for his future within the league.
Even with his struggles, both past and present, McLemore still has plenty of potential as he’s only 23 years old, although that will change by the time free agency hits.
Sure, it’s not to the level of where the Kings drafted him in the summer of 2013, but there’s certainly still role playing potential for McLemore somewhere. But it’s now or never for McLemore to rebound and make his concerning start a thing of the past as the year goes on.
There’s still about two-thirds left in the season, but for a player like McLemore, the next few months will be what determines the prime years of his career. Now it’s up to him to decide how that will turn out.
