It appears any movement regarding the Sacramento Kings won’t involve two of their most prickly personalities, George Karl and DeMarcus Cousins. Their Cold War dates all the way back to last season, but management has, for whatever reason, shown a strong reluctance to move on from either of them. That may not be the case, however, for Ben McLemore, who has reportedly grown increasingly disgruntled with his role in Sacramento and could very well be on the move before Thursday’s trade deadline. Via ESPN.com’s Marc Stein and Brian Windhorst:
Players who interest Cleveland, sources say, include dream target Kyle Korver (who would naturally be very difficult to pry from Atlanta) and Kings reserves Ben McLemore and Kosta Koufos.
The aforementioned McLemore, sources say, is working with the Kings to try to find a new home via trade. Sacramento made the same pledge to veteran swingman Caron Butler as far back as December.
During a players’-only blowout last fall, team veterans reportedly told McLemore, “Your role is to make 3-pointers and defend. That’s everyone’s role on this team except DeMarcus and Rajon.” Indeed, the third-year wing’s role has been drastically reduced this season. He’s averaging career lows in minutes and points per game, despite shooting career highs from the field and behind the arc.
Cleveland might be a good landing spot for McLemore, but it’s hard to imagine that he alone moves the needle enough for the Cavs, who are surely in the market for more proven upgrades if they are in fact looking to move Timofey Mozgov or Iman Shumpert, as has been reported.
(Via ESPN.com)
