Thanks and good luck Ray McCallum
- Thread starter John Galt
- Start date
I just wish there was a way to hold them accountable later on, so that if we do well, we can rub it in their faces. Sadly, that's not how the world works, which is of course why they rip the Kings. It's popular these days, it's easy if you don't care whether you're right or not, and there are no repercussions of any kind.
Amazing isn't it? Kings are a dumpster fire and a joke, but somehow our 3rd pg and our backup SG are too valuable to let go. The national media needs to make up their minds.
I like Ray, but if he was going to take over the backup PG spot, he would have done it with all the opportunities he had the last 2 years. Glad he was traded to a class organization and hope he has a long career there.
I like Ray, but if he was going to take over the backup PG spot, he would have done it with all the opportunities he had the last 2 years. Glad he was traded to a class organization and hope he has a long career there.
To be fair, at least half the twitter comments are about CJ McCollum, not Ray McCallum. Or I assume so. Ray McCallum the floor stretcher? He shot .306 from 3.
Also, any player who the kings don't develop seems to be assumed to just be a product of bad king's management.
That's not to say the spurs taking him doesn't give me pause. Cause it does. I think it's just good value for them. He's cheap. I don't think they'll be offering a lot of long term money or anything
Also, any player who the kings don't develop seems to be assumed to just be a product of bad king's management.
That's not to say the spurs taking him doesn't give me pause. Cause it does. I think it's just good value for them. He's cheap. I don't think they'll be offering a lot of long term money or anything
Ray is a very solid 2nd/3rd guard who gives effort on defense, can score relatively efficiently and takes care of the ball.
While he can occasionally score in bunches, he's not a sparkplug that will get you back in games or win them for you. But he's also not a liability who will lose games. In short, I think he's a very good fit for San Antonio and Pop's system. The Spurs have a way of taking these kinds of players, putting them in a position to succeed and then either trading them for value or losing them in free agency when other teams overpay for them. It's a great situation for McCallum.
And I have to assume this means Andre Miller is back. Because with Karl's penchant for playing two PGs the 3rd string point guard takes on even more importance than normal.
While he can occasionally score in bunches, he's not a sparkplug that will get you back in games or win them for you. But he's also not a liability who will lose games. In short, I think he's a very good fit for San Antonio and Pop's system. The Spurs have a way of taking these kinds of players, putting them in a position to succeed and then either trading them for value or losing them in free agency when other teams overpay for them. It's a great situation for McCallum.
And I have to assume this means Andre Miller is back. Because with Karl's penchant for playing two PGs the 3rd string point guard takes on even more importance than normal.
It's too bad that Ray was traded but that's business. I really liked him. The Kings are moving in another direction and Ray just didn't fit in with the team at this time. The Spurs know that they got a player with lots and lots of potential. This is good for Ray. I'll be checking on him as the Spurs are entertaining to watch and are a top-notch organization.
Ray's main issue that I saw is that his first step off the dribble isn't great. He often can't get past that first defender, retreats a little and ends up over dribbling. For him to succeed he has to get his spot 3pt shooting to a higer level, maybe 40% or so. Once he actually gets going to the rim he has a pretty strong frame that allows him to finish at the rim. Also is very good with that mdirange pull up. San Antonio should be the perfect place for him they have a knack of developing guys as spot shooters.
I don't understand the reason for resigning Miller to a short term deal and having him walk/retire and give up on a solid prospect in Ray. I understand they moved him to either clear space, or to get something in return because they didn't intend on resigning him after next year, but I feel that not wanting to keep him around is a bad move to begin with. Why not keep him around? Because he hasn't been as consistent as you'd expect? His entire short career he's dealt with inconsistency. He's played two years and been under 3 head coaches. He's been put in wildly different rotations with inconsistent minutes, been asked to play different roles, and you want to see more? Give me a break. He's shown as much as can be expected considering the circumstances, and seems to be the type of guard who will be a solid rotation player in a few years. I understand Vlade wants to win now to keep DMC and co around, but we've seen what happens when the "win now" philosophy works when you keep trying to tack on veterans on short term deals. A team MUST find a balance between youth and experience, keeping their future success moving forward without sacrificing any current momentum. The Spurs are a great example of grabbing youth and mixing them with experience, and the fact they want a guy like Ray to boost their backcourt speaks volumes. The only youth we are developing now is WCS, and I wouldn't be surprised if they deal Ben soon.
This team has been horrible at developing young talent, and I wish Ray the best in his career and hope he makes the Kings regret their decision in the future.
This team has been horrible at developing young talent, and I wish Ray the best in his career and hope he makes the Kings regret their decision in the future.
Sigh.
Ray is not "young talent". I've made this point a number of times before. People get overfascinated with young mediocrities just because they are young. But they don't matter. You can sign mediocrities every single free agency period. You don't sit around and collect them. The whole youth thing is centered around finding SPECIAL youth. Finding DeMarcus for instance. That you almost can't get in free agency. Draft them or else. But Ray? The Ray's will come and go and be useful or not depending on current circumstance. Ray can go play Corey Joseph for the Spurs and do just fine as an 11th man type for the Spurs, because its the Spurs and they have so many other options. For us, we absolutely need to break through and we need as many experienced hands on deck as we can get in order to do so.
Here's one way of looking at it. Ray McCallum is less than a year younger than DeMarcus Cousins. In fact, until August 13th (Boogie's birthday) they are both 24 years old. Neither guy is in their prime yet but at this point we're looking at incremental gains. A bit stronger, a bit smarter, a bit more efficient, maybe adding a wrinkle here and there. But at this point you can't really expect huge leaps. Outside of injury or playing for a godawful team (the Sixers or the 1997-1998 Kings where Anthony Johnson started) McCallum isn't ever going to be a starting PG. He'll be a 2nd PG on bad teams and a 3rd PG on good teams.
And the only real question the Kings have to ask is whether Andre Miller or Ray McCallum would be the better 3rd PG NEXT year. Because that's all that matters right now. And next season you make that decision again. Because with deep bench guys you're only really ever concerned with the next season because those roster spots are always in flux.
And the only real question the Kings have to ask is whether Andre Miller or Ray McCallum would be the better 3rd PG NEXT year. Because that's all that matters right now. And next season you make that decision again. Because with deep bench guys you're only really ever concerned with the next season because those roster spots are always in flux.
Your opinion of Ray and my opinion of him are very different. There is no way, ever, that Ray will be a legitimate starting PG full time and be good at it, especially in the West. He is elite at absolutely nothing, and in this PG heavy league you need to be special at something, anything. Dribbling, shooting, defense, passing, etc. He isn't. He will at best be a backup PG, which is something I am sure he will be just fine with.