Sacramento Kings say Nik Stauskas won’t replace Ben McLemore

By Josh Hill | Jul 21, 2014

Apr 16, 2014; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings guard Ben McLemore (16) on the ground after being fouled on a three point shot against the Phoenix Suns during the fourth quarter at Sleep Train Arena. The Phoenix Suns defeated the Sacramento Kings 104-99. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /

The Sacramento Kings took shooting guard Ben McLemore with the No. 7 overall pick last year but then turned around in a year and drafted shooting guard Nik Stauskas with the No. 8 pick in the lottery.

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What this seems to suggest is that in the year he’s been in the NBA, the Kings have given up on McLemore and are ready to move on to the next best thing. This may be heavily suggested by the moves that Sacramento has made, but it’s not entirely truthful either.

According to NBA.com’s Scott Howard-Cooper, the Kings may have drafted Nick Stauskas No. 8 overall this year but he’s not going to be replacing 2013 lottery selection Ben McLemore anytime soon.

"“I told him,” coach Michael Malone said of McLemore, ” ‘Listen, we drafted Nik Stauskas. That’s not any slight on you. We still believe in you. You’re still our guy and we still expect great things from you from Year 1 to Year 2.’ I think he came out to Summer League after one year in the NBA thinking he had to score 20 points a game. It’s not about that. It’s playing the right way as we try to instill more ball movement.”"

McLemore put together a splendid Summer League stint this year and has made it look as though he could be in for a breakout year. How much of that has been motivated by the drafting of Stauskas is unknown but the bottom line is no matter what the reason is for McLemore’s success, having two hot shooting guards is good news for the Kings in 2014-15.

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