Two Kings the Cleveland Cavaliers should put beside King James
Ben McLemore and Rudy Gay, who will be free agents on July 1st, are two former Sacramento Kings who the Cleveland Cavaliers should explore adding to their roster.
If you were to buy into the narratives, Ben McLemore and Rudy Gay wouldn’t be the type of players that the Cleveland Cavaliers should give a call. However, not only do they both fit specific needs for the Cavs but they’re both players who have shown the ability to play at a high level and be impact players on both ends of the court.
Let’s discuss McLemore first. ESPN’s Chris Haynes has reported that the Sacramento Kings have declined to extend a qualifying offer, making him an unrestricted free agent rather than a restricted free agent.
McLemore, who has been linked to the Cavs as a trade target over the past couple of seasons, has a believer in LeBron James. He’s also represented by Rich Paul or Klutch Sports, who also represents James (as well as teammates Tristan Thompson and J.R. Smith), so the connection there is apparent as well.
Drafted with the 7th overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft, McLemore came into the league with a lot of hype. At the University of Kansas, McLemore was a sniper that was drawing comparisons to a future Hall of Famer in Ray Allen. Knocking down 42.0 percent of his three-point attempts (4.7 per game) and 49.5 percent of his field goals, the comparisons seemed well-warranted.
His ball-handling, shooting ability, athleticism and smooth glide in transition would allow him to be a threat in both fullcourt and halfcourt settings, something Kings fans would soon see in the Sleep Train Arena.
For the Cavs though, while McLemore’s in-between game has been promising but inconsistent, his offensive value to the Cavs will come behind-the-arc and at the rim.
After a slow start in his rookie season, in which he only made 32.0 percent of his threes, McLemore lost some of his luster. However, despite the Kings internal dysfunction beginning to fester in his next two years, he managed to convert 35.8 percent of his threes in sophomore season and 36.2 percent of his threes the year after that. With the Kings finding some measure of stability in the form of coach Dave Joerger, McLemore’s three-point percentage has jumped up to 38.2.
What’s also interesting to note is that while his catch-and-shoot ability has shined, so has his ability to pull up from three-point range. McLemore only made 30.4 percent of his threes when he pulled up off-the-dribble in his rookie season and 31.5 percent in his sophomore season, however he made 37.5 percent of such attempts in his third season and an eye-popping 42.4 percent of those attempts last season.
In general, McLemore’s a tremendous spot-up shooter, with an effective field goal percentage of 57.1.
While there’s a possibility the Cavs bring back Kyle Korver, they’ll be considering the implications of re-signing a 36-year-old shooting guard with foot problems to a hefty sum. The Cleveland Cavaliers also reportedly want to trade Iman Shumpert, according to Sam Amico of AmicoHoops.
Looking at the numbers, you’d immediately assume that McLemore’s ability to be a shooter coming off of screens may not be good enough to replace Korver, as he only had an effective field goal percentage of 39.2 when coming off of screens last season. However, Korver only had an effective field goal percentage of 40.5 when coming of screens last season, for comparison.
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With McLemore’s ability to score coming on cuts, making 69.0 percent of his field goal attempts he’s in the 67th percentile in such situations. His ability to score off-ball in the halfcourt gives him a completely different dynamic than Shumpert, who made 25.0 percent of his field goals on cuts (nil percentile).
McLemore’s made 66.7 percent of his shots within three feet of the rim for his career largely due to his ability to finish above the rim (even converting lob attempts). At 24-years-old, the Cleveland Cavaliers will be getting a young athlete whose a sniper. His awareness on both ends needs work but like all of the Cavs, playing with James will help in that regard as long as he’s willing to learn.
It’s possible that McLemore will get a better offer than the minimum but it’s not going to come from a championship contender with the best player in the world. A player so important to Cleveland that he gets almost anything he wants and if he wants McLemore, he could possibly keep him in Cleveland for as long as he wants, a la James Jones.
Gay is a much-maligned combo forward who has played for three teams in his 11-year career. Since being drafted with the eighth overall pick in the 2006 NBA Draft, Gay has proven to be a natural scorer and versatile defender.
While his reputation took a hit as his three-point percentage dipped, Gay resolved the issue with laser surgery on his eye and once again became a scoring machine. The only difference was he was playing on the Kings, a losing team with too many internal problems to name. Gay made it known he wanted to leave the Kings and here we are.
With a career average of 18.4 points per game, Gay would seemingly be the model of consistency as he averaged 18.7 points per game last season before tearing his Achilles in January. Yes, he tore his Achilles just five months ago. Medical advances have come a long way.
However, because he’s coming off an injury with that severity, there are two options factors that make the Cleveland Cavaliers an attractive destination without considering the fact that they’re championship contenders:
- The Cleveland Cavaliers can offer approximately $5.2 million with the taxpayer’s mid-level exception, and after getting paid $14 .3 million last season, he’ll be receiving a third of that amount after having a serious injury at 30-years-old.
- With a mid-level exception, a player can sign a three-year contract. While Gay would likely like an opt-out date in such a contract, the financial security of a three-year contract should be a valuable selling point considering the injury he sustained.
- He won’t be forced to play a major role early in the season and strain his injury. He’ll be allowed to slowly regain his form beside (or behind) the Big Three.
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The Cavs need to have a player who can thrive as the primary option so that the Big Three can rest. That’s true even if they acquire a player like Paul George in place of Kevin Love. In addition, the Cavs may find Gay useful for a lengthy but versatile and explosive frontcourt in George, James and Gay to combat the Death Lineup. With a backcourt of Kyrie Irving and J.R. Smith, the Cavs will be hard to stop since they won’t be relying on three-point specialists to score but players who can score off-the-dribble.
For the record, Gay made 38.4 percent of his catch-and-shoot threes, so he’ll also be a valuable outlet for James and Irving should they get into the lane and want to kick it back out to a shooter.
Together, McLemore and Gay can be seen as the second unit replacements for Shumpert and Richard Jefferson.