Opinion: Ben McLemore, Sacramento Kings Will Face Inevitable Breakup
By Rafe Wong
When the Sacramento Kings community found out that their team selected Ben McLemore in the 2013 NBA Draft, the feeling was equivalent to when a girl starts dating the star athlete in high school. Life is perfect and nothing can go wrong.
Below is the reaction of when the Kings front office got their man.
Fast forward three years, the couple is now in the real world. The once star player is not ruling the school anymore and is showing sides of him that the girlfriend did not expect when making the commitment. Does this mean it is time to break up?
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One word can describe Ben McLemore’s tenure with the Sacramento Kings, inconsistency. Kings fans have seen McLemore be the 3-and-D player that the team still hopes to find someday, but it has only come in spurts throughout his professional career.
The belief that McLemore can finally be effective with Sacramento seems to be declining as time progresses, and it seems the Kings front office agrees.
During the most recent NBA trade deadline, rumors were spiraling around the NBA world that McLemore was receiving interest from other club and could have been traded mid-season.
Obviously, the rumors didn’t live up to the hype and McLemore remained a King until season’s end.
But then the free agency period came along, and Sacramento signed Arron Afflalo and Garrett Temple to the team, both who play the shooting guard position.
If the Kings were seriously committed to McLemore, who also plays the shooting guard spot, they wouldn’t have signed two players that play the same position as him.
The Kings are still in need of a point guard. Could Sacramento be in preparation of splitting up with McLemore due to a trade anytime soon? Possibly in a package deal with other Kings players like Rudy Gay or Kosta Koufos?
Express Yourself
Kings fans, we want to hear from you. Is it a good idea for the Sacramento Kings and Ben McLemore to break up?
To express your thoughts on the issue, feel free to partake in our survey that is currently up on our Twitter account.
Is it time for the Sacramento Kings and Ben McLemore to break up?
— A Royal Pain (@ARoyalPain) July 7, 2016
Rafe’s Thoughts
When the news came out that the Kings signed Arron Afflalo to a two-year deal, my initial thoughts were that the Kings finally found an established starting two-guard that could possibly mentor McLemore along the way.
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But then the signing of Garrett Temple came later on which created a surplus at the two-guard position, indicating that the girlfriend (Sacramento Kings) looks to be ready to move on from the star player.
I’m fan of McLemore. He is young, he has potential, and he has a work ethic to be a good player in the NBA someday. But both parties need to move on from each other so both can flourish.
With players like Afflalo and Temple now on the depth chart for Sacramento, McLemore is not going to get enough playing time to make any significant strides as a player.
I still think McLemore can be a starting guard at the professional level, but he needs to go to a franchise for a fresh start and hopefully some stability.
The Kings and their fans may be disappointed in the former Jayhawk, but the time that McLemore spent with the Kings wasn’t ideal for him either in my opinion.
Just like his game, uncertainty was stained throughout the organization, and players and head coaches were coming in and out of the roster frequently. A difficult way for a young player to thrive with that kind of atmosphere.
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It’s fair to say that both parties played their fault in this relationship, and even though McLemore is still on the team as of now I do expect the franchise to execute a trade which includes Ben in the near future. Officially ending the three-year relationship.
We will always have Vegas of 2014.