Final Grades: McCallum, Miller, Collison, Stockton, Sessions
By Jared Stone
During the All-Star break, the A Royal Pain team graded every Sacramento Kings position, player by player, on their mid-season production. With a full 82 game schedule to analyze, those grades require updating. We’ll be giving every player their final grades this week, starting with Ray McCallum, Andre Miller, Darren Collison, David Stockton, and Ramon Sessions: the point guards.
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Ray McCallum: C+
Some may fault me for being harsh, but I was disappointed by “RayMac” this season. Yes, he did perform better as a starter under Coach Karl than he had as a second and third stringer, but I did not see the jump in improvement from his rookie year that I had hoped for. One could put the blame on this season’s coaching and playing instability; yet I was hoping to see him really step up in his starter role. His field goal percentage rose, and he had some nice flashes, but he might be better suited as a combo guard who slides over to the 2. I’m still a big fan of his and hope he stays in Sacramento.
Andre Miller: B+
Even at 39 years old, Andre was a breath of fresh air for Sacramento. Not only did the trade rid the Kings of Ramon Sessions, but Miller’s high basketball IQ and veteran leadership proved useful. With the season lost, Miller, who has family in Sacramento, played well and helped in incorporating Karl’s system. Andre averaged almost five assists and shot efficiently off the bench. He seemed to “calm things down” while playing, and gave the team reliability and consistency from the bench. Realistically, anybody would’ve been better than Sessions, but Miller gets a B+ given he came in and did exactly what was asked and expected of him.
Darren Collison: B+
Collison gets the same grade he got at midseason, considering he never suited up under Coach Karl due to his hip flexor injury. I can’t hold his injury against him, but when on the floor, Collison averaged career highs in points, rebounds, and steals; and was close to his highs in assists, 3P% and FG%. It seems like forever ago that fans raised their pitchforks over Darren replacing fan-favorite Isaiah Thomas, but when healthy, he was the team’s third best player. It’s a shame that Collison didn’t get to play under Karl, but due to his team-friendly salary and improvements across the board, he might be a useful trade chip this offseason.
David Stockton: Incomplete
John’s son only played in three games for the Kings, thus he gets an “incomplete” grade.
Ramon Sessions: G
Sessions was traded right after the All-Star break and after my midseason grades were written. I originally gave him an F, but decided to lower it to a “G”. Yes, Sessions was that bad in his easily forgettable and regretful Sacramento tenure.