Deadline Passes Without Extension for Kings Guard McLemore

For a weak 2013 draft class, the money is flowing, except for Sacramento Kings guard Ben McLemore.

The Oct. 31 deadline for extensions has come and gone, meaning that McLemore will play the remainder of the season without a new long-term deal with the Kings.

C.J. McCollum: $107 million over 4 years 
Rudy Gobert: $102 million over 4 years
Steven Adams: $100 million over 4 years
Giannis Antetokounmpo: $100 million over 4 years
Victor Oladipo: $84 million over 4 years

Dennis Schroder landed $70 million, Gorgui Dieng got $64 million and even Cody Zeller scooped up a 4-year, $56 million deal from the Hornets.

McLemore, the seventh overall selection in 2013, will enter next summer as a restricted free agent, as long as the Kings give him a qualifying offer. They’ll be able to match any offer sheet he is given on the open market, but whether they will or not is a completely different question.

The 23-year-old shooting guard has had plenty of moments, both good and bad throughout his short career. He’s started 190 of his 235 games, including 55 starts in his rookie campaign under Michael Malone.

But instability in the Kings organization and has made his early journey in the league a rocky road. Four coaches in four seasons is not what a one-and-done college athlete needs. McLemore is still young and has plenty of potential that coach Dave Joerger and his staff are desperately trying to tap into.

“Man, Ben’s had so many ups and downs throughout his career,” Rudy Gay said. “I think he’s destined to be a great player.”

Through four games this season, McLemore has excelled, although not without a hiccup here or there. He’s averaging 10.3 points on 50 percent shooting in 18 minutes a night in a reserve role.

McLemore was treated unkindly by the Spurs' Kawhi Leonard in the second game of the season. The two-time reigning Defensive Player of the Year walked up to the 6-foot-5 wing and took the ball from him on consecutive possessions. Leonard scored on the break both times, leaving McLemore stunned and looking into his palms for answers.

Despite scoring 10 points in 10 minutes of action, Joerger pulled McLemore and let him watch the remainder of the game from the bench. It wasn’t a benching as much as it was preserving his young guard from falling into a downward spiral.

“All he needs is confidence,” Gay said. “All any player needs is confidence to go out there and be productive every night. That’s something we know he can do. We just have to keep encouraging him and make sure we let him know that we think he can do it to.”

McLemore agrees. He won’t have the security heading into the offseason like plenty of his draft classmates, but if he can continue to perform at a high level this season, the money will come either in Sacramento or elsewhere.

“I worked really hard this summer to build that (confidence) and coach Joerger and his staff and my teammates are doing a great job of continuing to believe in me, build my confidence,” McLemore said following the Kings win over Minnesota on Saturday night.

Sacramento’s front office turned down a straight up swap of McLemore for former rookie of the year Michael Carter-Williams before camp. While they have refused to move him, they have taken the time to put a contingency plan in place incase the former Kansas star gets an offer they don’t feel obliged to match.

The Kings signed veteran shooting guard Arron Afflalo to a 2-year, $24 million deal during the summer. They drafted Malachi Richardson and traded for the draft rights to sharpshooter Bogdan Bogdanovic with the plan of bringing him to the NBA next summer.

For now, McLemore is a King. He has plenty of time to audition for the entire league, but he’ll need to keep his confidence high, even when the ball doesn’t bounce his way.
 

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