Final Regular-Season Grades for Every Sacramento Kings Player
Another season has come and passed for the Sacramento Kings. Like the eight before it, this campaign ended with the Kings watching the playoffs from home instead of participating in them.
But hey, the team did improve. It went from 28-54 in the previous two seasons to 29-53 in 2014-15. Hooray for progress!
All kidding aside, before we look forward to what figures to be an eventful offseason, let's look back at the season that was and grade each of the team's players. Grades will be based on a combination of overall performance, with more of an emphasis on the stretch run, as well as expectations. Therefore, a reserve who had worse stats could have a better grade than a starter who was more productive overall.
For the starters, since some of the lineup has been in-flux due to injuries and coaching changes, we'll base it on the player who started the most games, opposed to the one who simply ended the season in the starting lineup. We'll also only be grading players who finished the season on the roster, so the Sim Bhullars, David Wears and Quincy Millers of the world won't be included.
End-of-Bench Reserves
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Eric Moreland
Moreland, who's been out with a shoulder injury, hasn't suited up since way back on Dec. 13, when Michael Malone was still head coach. The rookie only logged three minutes all season, so grading his performance is a futile task.
Grade: Incomplete
Ryan Hollins
Hollins mostly appeared in games only when DeMarcus Cousins was out sick or injured. His performance was admirable down the stretch, as Cousins was sitting with a foot injury, averaging 7.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.0 blocks in 18.1 minutes over the team's final four contests.
Grade: C-
David Stockton
As an undrafted player whom the Kings signed from their D-League affiliate, the Reno Bighorns, Stockton showed some flashes. He displayed solid court vision and decision-making. The point guard's most extensive action came in team's April 15 season finale against the Los Angeles Lakers. Stockton scored five points and dished out seven assists in 19 minutes in the Kings' 122-99 victory.
Grade: C+
Nik Stauskas
Overall, Sauce Castillo's rookie season was pretty disappointing. For much of the year, Stauskas was timid and reluctant to shoot when opportunities were there. When he did fire away, he only made 36.5 percent of his field goals and 32.2 percent of his three-pointers. At least he finished the season on a decent note, with 14 points and five assists against the Lakers. Still, it wasn't what was expected of the eighth pick in the draft, and he'll need to improve this offseason.
Grade: D
Reggie Evans
Evans appeared in only 47 games. When he did play, he did what he always does: rebound the basketball. Evans hauled in a team-leading 22.2 percent of all boards when he was on the floor (not including Moreland and his three-minute sample size). His offensive game is limited, but the Kings knew that going into the season. So all things considered, Evans performed about as well as expected.
Grade: C
Carl Landry
At $6.5 million per year, Landry is a bit overpaid, but that's not his fault. The forward didn't receive as much playing time as he has in the past, but he produced about as expected when he did get chances. His 15.2 points, 8.1 rebounds and 51.5 field-goal percentage per 36 minutes resemble his career averages.
Grade: C
Derrick Williams
Williams provided plenty of highlight-reel dunks. He also became a more productive offensive player once George Karl came on the scene, averaging 10.8 points in 22.8 minutes, with a 45.3 field-goal percentage and 34.4 three-point percentage. But Williams didn't do much else. Most notably, he grabbed two or fewer rebounds in 20 of 30 games under Karl. That can't happen to a 6'8", 241-pound power forward.
Grade: C-
Key Reserves
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Due to Darren Collison's extended absence and that his duties were spread between two players, we're including both as a key reserve.
Ray McCallum
It was McCallum's second NBA season and the second time he was forced into the starting lineup due to an injury. Just as he showed in a similar situation a year ago, McCallum could develop into a quality reserve if given enough playing time.
He started 30 games post-All-Star break and performed admirably, especially considering he went from No. 3 on the depth chart—behind Collison and Ramon Sessions—to No. 1 following an injury to the former and a trade of the latter.
His 11.2 points, 4.3 assists and 3.8 rebounds in 30 minutes a night as a starter were solid. What's most encouraging, though, is McCallum's ball security. He only turned the ball over 1.7 times per game during that span. The Kings, meanwhile, were the fifth-worst team in turnover ratio during that same stretch.
Grade: B
Andre Miller
At 39 years old, Miller showed he can still be a productive point guard.
Since coming over from the Washington Wizards in a midseason trade, Miller averaged 5.7 points and 4.7 assists in 20.7 minutes. He was also responsible for setting up a couple highlight-reel dunks.
As Karl told reporters in March, the veteran also provided Karl with someone he could trust since the two spent time together with the Denver Nuggets.
"He’s kind of my security blanket with this team because I know him and he knows me. And when we get in that zone of what the hell’s going on out there, he’s the guy I go to as much as anybody.
Andre’s the type of guy, I just give him the second unit, and say I’m gonna put Jason (Thompson) out there with you, I think (Thompson is) gonna run for you and (Miller) figures it out. He’s (almost) 39 years old, but he’s a winner and I think when he’s 41 he’ll still be a winner. He knows how to win games, he knows how to lead a team, and it’s a pleasure to have him with me.
"
Grade: C+
Sixth Man: Omri Casspi
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Omri Casspi was the team's most important reserve throughout the season.
Casspi showed the versatility to be successful under all three coaches the Kings employed. He was able to score in Malone's half-court-oriented offense through cuts to the basket, while he displayed the ability to thrive in Karl and Tyrone Corbin's uptempo schemes.
The forward really went on a tear over the season's final 16 games, 14 of which he started. Casspi saw averages of 14.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists. He also knocked down 52.8 percent of his field goals and a scorching 51 percent of his three-pointers.
Casspi is a free agent, and he's a player the Kings should re-sign. He was a fit for what Karl wants to do, and his 14.4 player efficiency rating was a career high. Not to mention, at 26 years old, he's just now entering his prime.
But most importantly, Casspi wants to remain in Sacramento, as he recently told reporters. “I love it here. I want to come back. My agent knows that, I know that, I love it here.”
Grade: B
Point Guard: Darren Collison
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We didn't see Darren Collison after Feb. 5, as the point guard missed the remainder of the season due to a hip injury. The Kings were all but eliminated from the playoffs at that juncture, so they didn't miss Collison's production from that standpoint. The real drag is that he never got to play under Karl, who will be the team's head coach for the foreseeable future.
Prior to his injury, this was Collison's best season in the NBA. He had a career-high PER of 17.5, which is even more remarkable when considering he was a starter and therefore played against better competition than he did in prior seasons.
The Kings were also 1.2 points better than the opposition when he was on the court and 7.5 worse when he sat. Only DeMarcus Cousins caused a bigger swing for the team.
It'll be interesting to see how Collison adapts to Karl's system next season, but there's no doubting he outperformed expectations in 2014-15.
Grade: B-
Shooting Guard: Ben McLemore
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With Ben McLemore, it all depends on what you expected. Did you expect him to perform like the seventh pick in the draft whom ESPN's Jay Bilas rated as the best player in his class or as he did in a lackluster rookie season?
You can put me in the second group. Because of that, the second-year player is getting a favorable grade.
McLemore went from making 37.6 percent of his field goals and 32 percent of his three-pointers as a rookie to 43.7 and 35.8 as a sophomore. He also increased his scoring from 8.8 points to 12.1.
With that said, McLemore still only posted a 10.4 PER, which is well below the league average of 15.0. So while he's much better than he was, he still has a long way to go. Based on his improvement and apparent physical tools, the Kings shouldn't give up on him by any stretch.
But they also shouldn't go into the offseason with him automatically penned in as the starting 2-guard. They could add an upgrade at the position and still find enough playing time for McLemore to continue developing. Assuming he does, Sacramento could have a good player on its hands down the road.
Grade: B
Small Forward: Rudy Gay
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This was Rudy Gay's best season in his nine-year career, which is saying something considering the forward already played at a high level.
Gay set career highs in points (21.1), PER (19.7), free-throw rate (.352) and true- shooting percentage (55.6). Perhaps what's most encouraging, though, is his improvement as a distributor. Gay averaged 3.7 assists, which is considerably more than his previous career high of 3.0.
Gay's versatility was a major boost to the Kings. Under Malone and Corbin, he played mostly small forward. When Karl became coach, the 28-year-old logged a lot of time at the 4.
In light of this switch, Gay got even better. He increased his scoring average to 23.9 points while seeing his true shooting percentage jump to 58.1 percent.
It will be interesting to see if he can provide similar production next season. But given his 6'8", 230-pound frame that's paired with his athleticism and fluidity, it's hard to bet against him.
Grade: B
Power Forward: Jason Thompson
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Jason Thompson was the Kings' starting power forward for much of the season, starting 63 games there.
He'll probably never be a popular player in Sacramento. His contract, coupled with the team's inability to find a viable upgrade, can have that effect, especially when you're losing a lot of games as the Kings were.
For the second season in a row, Thompson saw his scoring numbers dip to career lows, both in terms of points per game and per 36 minutes. Much of that can be explained away by accompanying lows in usage percentage, since Thompson is becoming an increasingly smaller part of the offense.
Yet his rebounding has remained steady. He's also a decent defender around the hoop, holding opponents who normally shoot 60.9 percent within six feet and 55.9 percent within 10 feet to 58.8 and 54.1, respectively.
The fact remains that the Kings need to upgrade the position. But that also doesn't change that Thompson's performed about as well as could be expected.
Grade: C-
Center: DeMarcus Cousins
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DeMarcus Cousins was the Kings' best player throughout the season. The center made another jump forward, which is coming on the heels of a similar progression in 2013-14.
He set career highs in minutes (34.1), scoring (24.1), rebounding (12.7), assists (3.6) and blocks (1.7), as well as tying his previous best in steals (1.5).
Unlike in previous years, he's also making an impact on defense. Part of that is evident with his increase in blocks and ability to stay steady with steals. But his on-ball defense also got better. Opponents saw their field-goal percentage drop 8.1 percent within six feet of the hoop and 7.1 inside of 10 feet.
Over a two-game stretch, Cousins showed how dominant he can be. On April 1 against the Houston Rockets, he scored 24 points, grabbed 21 rebounds, dished out 10 assists and blocked six shots. He followed that up on April 3 against the New Orleans Pelicans, going for 24 points, 20 rebounds, 13 assists and three blocks.
Both performances came in losses. But don't kid yourself, if he'd done the same thing in a losing effort for the Los Angeles Lakers or New York Knicks, it would have been a big story. Outside of Sacramento, all you heard of Cousins' exploits were crickets.
While the Kings have two nice pieces in Rudy Gay and Darren Collison, Cousins is the only one the Kings can truly build around. Let's just hope Karl's recent comments that nobody is untradeable aren't an ominous sign of things to come.
Grade: A
Unless noted otherwise, all stats courtesy of Basketball-Reference and NBA.com.
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