Sacramento Kings: Jimmer Fredette Needs to Improve His Game This Summer

Sacramento Kings' starting point guard Isaiah Thomas will forgo the upcoming Summer League games to finish his degree at the University of Washington, giving second-year guard Jimmer Fredette some extra opportunities to improve this offseason, Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee reported.   

Fredette—who was the Kings' first round draft pick in 2011 after leading the NCAA Division I men's basketball in scoring at Brigham Young University—had a lackluster rookie season in which he struggled to control the ball and was a liability on defense.  

In fact, the guy drafted 50 picks after him—Thomas—finished seventh in Rookie of the Year voting after averaging 25:30 minutes per game, 11.5 points per game and 4.1 assists per game compared to Fredette's averages of 18:36, 7.6 and 1.8.

And while the lockout took away to ton of offseason games and team activities last year that can be helpful to the transition of rookie players, keep in mind that Thomas—and all other rookies—were in the same boat as Fredette. 

So with Fredette and center Hassan Whiteside being the only returning Kings players on the Summer League roster, Fredette will get five pre-training camp games as the Kings' starting point guard to work on his ball-handling and confidence in order to improve before next season.

And the Kings need him to. 

The Kings have a roster that is filled with young talent, but they have struggled to find point guards who can consistently create shots for others before looking for their own. They finished 26th in assists per game last year. 

While Thomas emerged as the Kings' starting point guard mid-season, when he went to the bench the Kings were often left scratching their heads as to who should run the point. 

Guard-forward Tyreke Evans led the team in assists per game at 4.5—largely because Thomas started the year behind Fredette in the rotation—but was moved to the small forward position to fill a team need and because he often settled for bad shots over moving the ball around.

Guard Marcus Thornton led the Kings in scoring last season, but when the ball was in his hands he was expected to score first and pass second—he averaged a mere 1.9 assists per game. 

Guard-forwards John Salmons and Terrence Williams also spent time bringing the ball up court last season, but neither is a natural point guard.

And with only two roster spots available for the upcoming season—with restricted free-agent forward Jason Thompson possibly being one of the two if he accepts the Kings' offer sheet—and approximately $15 million in cap space, it's not likely the Kings will acquire another point guard in the offseason unless a trade is involved.

So this could be a big offseason for Fredette.       

The Kings need another point guard to back up Thomas.

It would make life much easier for the Kings and allow them to focus their limited resources on other team needs if Fredette could consistently and effectively fill that role.