Ray

McCallum

“The exciting thing about Greivis is those nine assists per game, we need willing playmakers,” said Malone, citing Vasquez’s averages with New Orleans last year. His quotes strengthen the notion that Vasquez will start at PG over Isaiah Thomas this year, but we won’t know for sure until training camp.

The message was obviously delivered to McCallum during Summer League this week, as he said, “I’m going to have to work on cleaning up my midrange game, my outside shooting, just work on different finishes around the rim.” The promising rookie should be monitored in fantasy leagues this season, though he’s unlikely to have any value as the third-string PG.

The Kings drafted McCallum with the sixth pick in the second round. Contracts for second-round picks tend to vary based on player and team, although it likely won’t include a ton of guaranteed money. McCallum has shown some nice potential in the Las Vegas Summer League, but he’s unlikely to make an impact this season behind Isaiah Thomas and Greivis Vasquez.

He turned some heads at Las Vegas Summer League for his play-making ability and scored 28 points in his D-League debut on Nov. 22. McCallum still has a ways to go before getting in the rotation.

Coach Michael Malone said Fredette would get “first crack” at backing up Thomas following the trade of Greivis Vasquez, and the former BYU star responded by scoring a season-high 13 points on 4-of-6 shooting in 12 minutes Wednesday night. Malone will likely try to see what he has in Ray McCallum before he makes a final decision on his lineup, so we’ll need to see some consistent minutes out of The Jimmer before recommending him as a pickup in most leagues.

He’ll join the team in Sunday’s game against the Cavs. McCallum is expected to get some minutes at some point of the season, but there’s little reason to consider him in fantasy while Isaiah Thomas is healthy. McCallum did show a nice skill set at summer league.

He’s getting more minutes with Marcus Thornton in Brooklyn, but as long as Isaiah Thomas and Ben McLemore are healthy, it’s hard to see McCallum being worth owning in most fantasy leagues. Just keep an eye on him if you’re in a real deep league.

He’ll join Ben McLemore, Derrick Williams, Jason Thompson and DeMarcus Cousins. It’s been an overdue move and now the Kings had no choice. Thomas should deliver a supreme line tonight against Jose Calderon and the Mavericks. Rookie Ray McCallum could get some minutes tonight while Jimmer Fredette may get a look with the Kings a little short-handed due to the trade.

Coach Michael Malone said, “The reality is we need to see Ray McCallum play. He had a tremendous training camp for us, did some really good things in the preseason, so we’ll give him a look during the season at the backup one to see who he is, where he’s at and what he needs to work on.” McCallum only played five minutes in his first game action Monday night and will split backup duties with Jimmer Fredette for now, but he could be an interesting add in deep leagues if Malone sticks to his word.

He scored 22.3 points per game in the D-League before getting called up to play for the Kings and he’s here to stay. McCallum is a score-first point guard and he’ll split the backup duties with Jimmer Fredette for now.