How important is Ben's performance in this Summer league to you?

[The_Jamal]

Just saw the facebook post of the Kings plans to once again play in the Las Vegas Summer Leage. (shocker!!!)

My question is how important is it for Ben to have a good showing? Obviously, we want him to do well, but does it raise major red flags if he doesn't? Or if he does, will it give you more confidence in him as starting SG next season?

 

[Albatros]

I won't lose too much sleep. But it'd be nice to see he's got his handle tighter and his d has improved.

I wonder if dwill is actually going to play. I'd be more interested to see if he can dominate. Which he should.

 

[KingMilz]

None, he's not built for the Summer League, it's all about what he does for the regular season.

 

[Bricklayer]

There is nothing he could do in summer league that would convince me starting him wouldn't be a huge, even unacceptable, risk next season. I cannot pin an important season on a week of good play in a midsummer exhibition tournament.

On the other hand continued struggles would be a red flag. Basically any and all encouragement about Ben last year was that in the final weeks he put things together a bit. That happens a lot at the end of seasons for young guys, you never know when to trust it and when to not. Is it Klay Thompson? Or Ike Diogu? So you would like to see both Ben and Ray sort of consolidate things. If they don't, that's a real concern. Once the NBA slows down for you you should be able to show well, if not necessarily dominantly, in summer league.

 

[dude12]

I don't put to much stock in it. Expecting him to dominate is not something I'm looking for. Playing well, taking good shots, showing improvement would suffice. Having the attitude that he should now dominate because he has one year under his belt is unrealistic.....not playing the game at a hundred miles an hour would work for me.....if he does that and is solid, I'll be happy

 

[steelevt]

I would like to see solid play from him. If he averages like 5/7 with a couple 3s, solid D, fewer turnovers and noticeably improved ball handling id be happy. I don't need to see him average 30 or 40 ppg or anything like that cuz we need him to be a 3rd or 4th option next year.

 

[Jerichoholic]

Unfortunately, it's a low upside and high downside. I actually do think that the summer league is built for players like McLemore. It is a guard driven league because guards have the ball like 90% of the time and passing occurs much less there than in regular season games. Also any player that has become very good in the NBA has tended to do well in summer league and usually dominate. Look at Tyreke Evans and DeMarcus Cousins, they made it look easy. Even Donte Greene was usually one of the best players in summer league. A player with as much athleticism and quickness as McLemore should be able to do extremely well at this point, especially with the amount of starting minutes he got to play in the regular season last year. At this point if he can't stand out in summer league then I think we might have a problem.

 

[Padrino]

the summer league format doesn't necessarily play to ben mclemore's strengths as an off-ball shooter (who, puzzling though it may be, has yet to prove that he can actually shoot the ball)...

that said, it's fairly clear at this point that the kings should be careful about considering ben a "major" piece going forward. it's unlikely that he'll develop the on-ball tools that make other "major" guards across the league so dynamic. the vast majority of them came into the nba with ball handling skills and a will to get to the basket, and have since refined those skills into truly deadly weapons. it's not too difficult to help those kinds of guards become acceptable jump shooters; it's much harder to help jump shooters become ball handling and rim attacking mad men...

if ben's shot comes around, and if he can manage to learn how to play even modest defense at the nba level, he can certainly be a valuable piece of the larger puzzle. so i wouldn't give up on him, but i also wouldn't be shy about pulling the trigger on a deal that includes him if it helps to bring back an impact player, regardless of how ben performs in summer league...

 

[Jerichoholic]

the summer league format doesn't necessarily play to ben mclemore's strengths as an off-ball shooter (who, puzzling though it may be, has yet to prove that he can actually shoot the ball)...

that said, it's fairly clear at this point that the kings should be careful about considering ben a "major" piece going forward. it's unlikely that he'll develop the on-ball tools that make other "major" guards across the league so dynamic. the vast majority of them came into the nba with ball handling skills and a will to get to the basket, and have since refined those skills into truly deadly weapons. it's not too difficult to help those kinds of guards become acceptable jump shooters; it's much harder to help jump shooters become ball handling and rim attacking mad men...

if ben's shot comes around, and if he can manage to learn how to play even modest defense at the nba level, he can certainly be a valuable piece of the larger puzzle. so i wouldn't give up on him, but i also wouldn't be shy about pulling the trigger on a deal that includes him if it helps to bring back an impact player, regardless of how ben performs in summer league...

I agree that the summer league is not built for off-ball shooters, but the question is, did they draft McLemore to be just an off-ball shooter? In my opinion, I don't believe so. I think he was forced to be an off-ball shooter last season to cover up some of his ball handling weaknesses. This is what he was supposed to work on this offseason and what better way to monitor his growth than in summer league? It is actually a great place to work on stuff as well.

I think in summer league he needs to show that he is a much better all around player as his weaknesses won't be exploited as much. If he just spends his time in the corner shooting 3-pointers that is not a good sign.

 

[funkykingston]

I want to see McLemore hit outside shots with more consistency and I want to see noticeable improvements in his ball handling. Those are the two things I'll gauge his summer league success on and really nothing else.

What I most want to see from McLemore is dramatically improved awareness on both ends but primarily on defense. Unfortunately Summer League won't offer a window into that as the games lack any real structure so we'll have to wait for preseason games to really see where his development is in that regard.

 

[Padrino]

I agree that the summer league is not built for off-ball shooters, but the question is, did they draft McLemore to be just an off-ball shooter? In my opinion, I don't believe so. I think he was forced to be an off-ball shooter last season to cover up some of his ball handling weaknesses. This is what he was supposed to work on this offseason and what better way to monitor his growth than in summer league? It is actually a great place to work on stuff as well.

I think in summer league he needs to show that he is a much better all around player as his weaknesses won't be exploited as much. If he just spends his time in the corner shooting 3-pointers that is not a good sign.

well, if PDA and co. drafted ben mclemore to be more than an off-ball shooter, then i question their evaluative prowess. many of us at kf.com capped mclemore's ceiling at "3 and D" before he was drafted, precisely because of his lack of go-to capability (and because of his nose for off-ball movement). at this point, just getting either "3" or "D" from mclemore would be nice. he's a shooter who needs to reacquire his touch, but he becomes a much more labor-intensive project if the kings attempt to put the ball in his hands. and the kings need more than a project; they need a contributor at SG (and have needed one since they decided to part ways with tyreke evans). i certainly want to see ben-mac improve his ability to operate with the ball in his hands, but more than anything, i want him to simply come-as-advertised at the start of next season: a guy with athletic, pitch perfect shooting form who can knock down the 3-ball with regularity...

 

[kingsboi]

Not important at all. It will be good to go out there and see where your at as far as in game shape, work up some conditioning and having a lot of repetition on his shots so they can maybe drop at a better clip this upcoming season.

 

[bajaden]

Summer league is a place where you work on your weaknesses. As a result, its not uncommon for a player to actually look bad at times, and still improve. If you've worked on your ballhandling, then you have to put it to use. You attack the basket through traffic. You try more advanced shot creation. You see if your crossover works with a real person guarding you instead of a chair. As a result, your going to make mistakes, turn the ball over, or dribble yourself into bad shot territory with no exit. It's like a righthanded big man who has worked on his left hand, and now is trying it against another big man in a real game. Sometimes the result isn't pertty. But that's how you get better. If you stay on the bunny hill, you'll never get to the expert slope. You learn by failing, and then adjusting.

So, having said that, I'll be pleased if I see bits of improvement across the board, and if he has the look of confidence while on the floor. I want him to look less frenetic and more composed. If he can stay within the speed of the game, I think everything else will fall into place.

 

[CruzDude]

As bajaden says, its where 1 and 2 year players work on their game. For the other 9 or 10 players, mostly FA's and undrafted, its the next step after workouts. A chance to show your game in real game conditions. DRob a few years ago was one example of a 1st rounder that did not do well in summer league, a red flag. Isaiah and Cuz on the other hand did well in summer. Now the Kings need to find some bench players and others to put on the D-League team, such as Xavier Thames, a 4-yr college player who needs to find a fit and play against better players than college to see if in fact he does fit. You'll see every type of player in a summer league team. All teams are coached by assistant Coaches, except for the somewhat rare exception of brand new coaches with no NBA coaching experience.

Don't forget Summer League is also the tryout time for NBA referees. Three refs for every game one of which will be a ref with NBA game experience. Typically 1-3 new refs a year come out of summer league. And score keepers, and stats folks all try out in summer league to see who has it and who doesn't. Throw in the occasional show girl in 4" heels and other Las Vegas types and you get you moneys worth.

 

[Big Cuz 15]

if he can be consistent like danny green i'll be happy. i don't expect anything more out of him. he wasn't touted as a kid with ball handling. we'll be good if we can get a system in place like san antonio. there is no offensive creativity or movement with the current crew.

 

[Jerichoholic]

well, if PDA and co. drafted ben mclemore to be more than an off-ball shooter, then i question their evaluative prowess. many of us at kf.com capped mclemore's ceiling at "3 and D" before he was drafted, precisely because of his lack of go-to capability (and because of his nose for off-ball movement). at this point, just getting either "3" or "D" from mclemore would be nice. he's a shooter who needs to reacquire his touch, but he becomes a much more labor-intensive project if the kings attempt to put the ball in his hands. and the kings need more than a project; they need a contributor at SG (and have needed one since they decided to part ways with tyreke evans). i certainly want to see ben-mac improve his ability to operate with the ball in his hands, but more than anything, i want him to simply come-as-advertised at the start of next season: a guy with athletic, pitch perfect shooting form who can knock down the 3-ball with regularity...

That's just thing, with all of the moves so far I do question their evaluative prowess. Getting McLemore this year was not much different than getting Thomas Robinson last year. A highly rated player before the draft begins dropping down the draft board, you have to wonder why. Then he falls to us and we take him without bringing him in for a workout at all. Rumors were that he was perhaps the highest rated player on the Kings' draft board, purely from watching games and public workouts I guess. After they drafted him everyone was talking about his great talent and work ethic. I even remember Grant Napier saying on his show that from he's heard, Ben McLemore will be a minimum 3 to 4 time all-star by the time his career is finished and he never says things like that.

My point here is that off-ball shooters don't become all-stars, they are role players. I really believe that they expect so much more from him than we have seen.