Sacramento Kings: Who will be the backup point guard?
After signing Yogi Ferrell to a two-year deal, the Sacramento Kings backup point guard battle will be one to watch throughout camp and preseason. Who will come out ahead?
The Sacramento Kings backup point guard role was held by Frank Mason III throughout most of the season. While Mason III was serviceable in the role, Sacramento seemed to want another option and opted the sign former Dallas Mavericks guard Yogi Ferrell to a two-year $6.2 million deal in the offseason.
Frank Mason III was drafted in the round two of the 2017 NBA Draft and played significant minutes for the Sacramento Kings during his first season. Over the course of the season, he played 52 games (starting two) and averaged 18.9 minutes per game.
The signing of Yogi Ferrell has been fairly well received thus far, and some analytics have it as one of the better signing by the Kings in recent history.
538's CARMELO projections have Yogi as a $55M player over the next 5 years or about $11M per season. This is the first offer I have ever seen the Kings make or have accepted below CARMELO value. Normally, we are offering way, way more than the player is worth. Congrats Vlade pic.twitter.com/I2NNvfAAWe
— Chris H. (@SPTSJUNKIE) July 20, 2018
Player Breakdown
The battle in camp should be a tight one but Ferrell is the one likely to come out on top. Not only does he have more NBA experience, but he adds another layer to the Kings offense with his ability to score and distribute the ball effectively.
Last season, Yogi shot five percent better from the field and 1.3 percent higher from three-point range, though that’s not a significant edge. Frank Mason, however, shouldn’t be counted out already.
Mason III now has an entire season of NBA experience under his belt. Not only that but he will also be suiting up for Team USA this month, giving him a little extra work in a competitive environment heading into training camp.
His shooting efficiency last season was far from ideal for your backup point guard but that should improve with some further development. In fact, most of his advanced stats paint a picture of a player just below average, not bad for a rookie second rounder.
His Value Over Replacement Player sat at -0.4, he posted a 13.0 Player Efficiency Rating (15 is always league average) and 0.5 win shares. Nothing that jumps out, but not bad given that he was rookie on a team that won just 27-games last season.
Conversely, Yogi Ferrell posted a slightly worse PER at 11.4, but has a VORP of 0.6 and posted 3.0 win shares. He also posted a better turnover percentage and a much higher true shooting percentage as well. It’s important to note that Yogi was in his second year in the league last season.
While Yogi contributed more to winning games, Mason might not be too far behind in terms of talent. The two are fairly comparable players, with Ferrell being the better and more polished of the two. That’s doesn’t mean Mason still can’t play a significant role either.
Conclusion
Ferrell will likely being the first guard off of the bench (if Buddy Hield starts), but Mason could play his way to being the 7th or 8th man in the Kings rotation. Of course, that depends totally on his development. If Mason performs poorly throughout training camp and the preseason, he could just as easily play himself out of the rotation.
Yogi Ferrell should and likely will take over the backup point guard role for the Sacramento Kings. Mason will likely be relegated to the backend of the rotation, but could still play around 15 minutes per game.
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One thing is for sure though, the Kings are a better team with Yogi Ferrell, they’ll be even better if Frank Mason III can emerge as a reliable option off of the bench.