Kings want McLemore to work on creating his own shot

Even when he was ice cold for a stretch at Summer League, when you watched Ben McLemore go up for a jumper you couldn’t help but admire the form. It just seemed obvious that eventually the shot will fall.

However, the Kings have bigger plans for McLemore than as a spot-up three guy.

He’s athletic and can finish in transition — and new Kings coach Mike Malone says he wants to run — but they want McLemore to be able to create a little in the half court as well. That’s what Malone told the Sacramento Bee in a long Q&A.

“Ben McLemore is a young guy, and he’s going to be better when he plays with better players. And he needs to continue to work on his ball handling and creating shots. But he has an athleticism you can’t teach, and he has an ability to shoot the ball when you get going that is special.”

With Greivis Vasquez and Isaiah Thomas, McLemore should be getting clean looks in the offense. At first all he has to do is put the ball on the floor and get a better shot when there is a hard closeout on him, and with that more things will open up.

If he can just develop solid handles and the ability to create enough space to get off that jumper he could be very dangerous. But expect it to take time, everything with the Kings right now is a process.