Royal Roundtable: Who Is the Sixth Man of the Year For the Sacramento Kings?
By Rafe Wong
Who was the sixth man of the year for the Sacramento Kings this season? The A Royal Pain (ARP) squad gives their intake on the subject.
ARP is back with its Royal Roundtable discussion. If you are new to the site or need a refresher, these articles start off with a topic that pertains with the Sacramento Kings.
The members of ARP then give their insights on the topic and can choose to debate with other members throughout the discussion. So without wasting any more time, here is the topic that was selected for this discussion and the responses that were given by the ARP team.
Topic: The bench performed well this season for the Kings, but who should be the sixth man of the year for the team?
RESPONSES
Rafe (@rafnation): There are some competitive candidates for this honor, but the player that stands out in my mind is Ty Lawson. I do not know what was wrong with Ty during his time with Houston and Indiana, but it seems like he fixed it with Sacramento. Whenever the Kings needed a boost in games, Lawson was there to help rejuvenate the team with his ability to score and distribute.
I think because he was such an offensive force is why he should be the sixth man of the year. Not only did he average 9.9 points and 4.8 assists per game, but he also was able to record an offensive rating of 110 which was ranked 3rd amongst his teammates.
Kyle (@notoriouskro): For me, Garrett Temple is the player that stands out as the Kings’ sixth man of the year. He seemed to be there for whatever the situation dictated as he fulfilled a variety of roles. He played everything from point guard to small forward, averaging 7.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game.
Temple was also the Kings best perimeter defender averaging 1.29 steals per game while locking down the opponents’ best wing on a nightly basis. The Kings had seven lineups that played ten or more games with a positive differential. Temple was involved with four of those lineups. He was their most reliable player off the bench on both ends of the floor. Hand him the trophy.
Rafe: I see your point with Temple. He definitely was one of the few Kings players this season to make a positive impact defensively, plus he was versatile. But I still stay with Lawson because I thought he did such an exceptional job fulfilling his role on the team.
Not only was he a consistent scorer and distributor, but he also did well in setting the pace when his number was called. There were a lot of times this season where the Kings would struggle in the beginning of games, but when Lawson came in, he would help rejuvenate the team back to being competitive and to me that makes up for his defense.
Michael (@Dugger_Sports): Another option for the sixth man would be Willie Cauley-Stein. He may have started a majority of the games down the stretch, but WCS only notched 21 starts for the season which qualifies him for this award.
He showed an improved offensive game in the extended post All-Star break minutes with a soft touch around the rim and a midrange jumper that’s showing progress. Cauley-Stein was the Kings’ premier rim protector when on the floor as well. But Lawson still was the most important player off the bench.
Rafe: Agree. Willie Cauley-Stein played welled this season. But the reason why I wouldn’t consider him for this award is because I felt most of his production happened after post All-Star break when he was a starter.
Kyle: I’m with you, Rafe. I loved the way Willie played after the DeMarcus Cousins trade, but he didn’t have the same value as a pure bench guy.
Michael: I couldn’t put him over Lawson for those reasons. Cauley-Stein had a larger impact towards the end of the season, but he was starting those contests. Even if he produced those numbers off the bench, Lawson’s instant offense was more valuable throughout the season.