i'm gonna lay off the arguing over tyreke for the day, because i'm exhausted from the anxiety that yesterday introduced. i do want to say this, however: i can appreciate that ranadive, d'allesandro, and co. are so excited about having made their first draft pick for the sacramento kings, but for kings fans, it's been lottery pick after lottery pick after lottery pick. it's been seven years' worth, the last two being an utter waste of time and roster space. and personally, i wasn't all that excited about this year's draft, either, because there wasn't all that much to be excited about. there was no lebron james. there was no chris paul. there wasn't even a blake griffin...
yet ranadive's and d'allesandro's enthusiasm over ben mclemore seems out of proportion to his talent level. i don't want to make that sound like an unwarranted criticism, because, again, i do genuinely appreciate their early investment in revitalizing this franchise. but it does concern me a fair amount that we've seen their unbridled enthusiasm unleashed first over demarcus cousins, and then over ben mclemore. yet we've seen nothing of the sort with respect to tyreke evans. that may be for no other reason than the fact that evans is an RFA, and they've abstained from commenting on him too much because they have yet to enter into contract negotiations. but i remain concerned nonetheless, and i wish i could say that the drafting of ben mclemore did something to temper my anxiety...
now, the kings may very well have come away with the most talented player in this draft. however, even though mclemore has quite the jump shot, he still doesn't project out to be, say, steph curry, who was a superior ball handler, passer, and floor general upon entering the draft. really, we're looking at a klay thompson type in mclemore, which is hardly a bad thing. in my estimation, mclemore is representative of the kind of significant roleplayer this roster desperately needs. that said, he's also not the kinda guy you go "all in" for. he could become something special someday (as with many young players with any kind of ceiling whatsoever), but, as of this moment, he doesn't exactly have #2 written all over him. lemme put it this way: if the plan is to pair mclemore with tyreke evans in the backcourt, then i'm a very big fan of the pick. but, if the plan is to sacrifice tyreke at the altar of ben mclemore, who the new regime seems to believe in so much, despite how unproven he remains, and despite tyreke's proven level of production and undeniable ceiling, then i might just become sick to my stomach...
i've heard the "tyreke is not a PG!!!!!!!!!!!" nonsense repeated so thoroughly that i'd be half-tempted to believe it if i didn't know better, but here's the facts of the case: 'reke and mclemore are complementary to one another in style of play, which is precisely what i and a great many others have been clamoring for on this roster since demarcus cousins was drafted. the kings require pieces that fit together in a sensible way, and i rather like a team constructed with cousins, evans, and mclemore at it's core. it's a big, athletic, versatile backcourt. and you've got post play from DMC. you've got penetration from 'reke. you've got outside shooting from mclemore, and an athleticism that would be useful on the break. you've got defense from 'reke, and i hear that mclemore isn't entirely inept on that side of the floor, either. you've got ball-handling and passing from 'reke, and some passing from cousins, as well. find a way to bring in a SF who can also move the ball effectively, and it doesn't matter so much that tyreke is not the prototypical PG that a great many kings fans still desire, for some reason...
as with the kings of old, your ball movement would be by committee, rather than by virtue of a "traditional point." and yes, i fully recognize that these young players would never execute an offense as beautifully as that team did, but then again, they don't have to with a potentially-dominant big in cousins and an elite penetrator in evans, especially if malone's MO is to craft a defensively-disciplined team (of course, this remains to be seen, and i'm skeptical given the kings' apparent preference for guards in the '13 draft, despite being utterly overloaded in the backcourt)...
atterson/JT