Ben McLemore Deserves More Playing Time For Sacramento Kings In Second Half Of 2015-16

Ben McLemore was mentioned in trade talks around the deadline with everyone from the Chicago Bulls to the Cleveland Cavaliers, but the Sacramento Kings ended up keeping their sharpshooter. They should start playing him more, though. McLemore has only logged 21 minutes per game under head coach George Karl, and it appears he has no need for the shooting guard.

Interesting dynamic in Ben McLemore’s situation: there’s a sense Kings front office is reluctant to move him, & that coach George Karl isn’t

— Sam Amick (@sam_amick) February 17, 2016

If the Kings’ main reason for shopping McLemore was the head coach, then they shouldn’t have even considered moving the young man. Let’s be real. Karl probably isn’t going to be there next season anyway, and so why would the franchise make a decision based on the coach’s whims today? It just doesn’t make sense, but then the Kings in general don’t make lot of that these days. How a guy can start 41 out of 49 games he’s played in the season but barely log 20 minutes in each contest is beyond reason, and that is the position they’ve put Ben in.

McLemore is a superb athlete who can play defense and shoot 3-pointers, and that seems to be the perfect shooting guard for the league’s current style. He is making over 37 percent from 3-point range this season, and he should only get more efficient with time.

If Karl was playing McLemore for additional minutes, then the guard would be putting up much better numbers. DeMarcus Cousins also seems to get lost in this discussion. The big man will need shooting around him if the Kings ever want to make a return to the playoffs, and McLemore fits the bill in every respect. Sacramento must not let a head coach who they contemplated firing earlier this season dictate their choices. McLemore should be with the Kings long after Karl gets canned, and it would be wiser to keep this young group together and maybe add a veteran presence over the summer. The Kings might not make the postseason this year, but they will be on the right track once they hire a new coach.