Aside from the big free agency trade news of landing DeMar DeRozan, Sacramento’s other signings slipped under the radar. One that could pay immediate dividends however was the signing of veteran backup Point Guard Jordan McLaughlin.
McLaughlin, a 28 year old guard who spent his first five seasons with Minnesota, doesn’t have a resumé that really blows anyone away. For his career he’s only averaged 4.4 points, 3.1 assists, 1.6 rebounds and 0.9 steals in limited minutes, mostly as Minnesota’s third string guard. Still, there’s reason to believe he could be ready for a bigger role in Sacramento.
McLaughlin made huge strides as a shooter last season, making 47.2% of his 89 total three point attempts for the season. Over the last 18 games of the season in particular, he made a ridiculous 56.7% of his threes as he gave the Timberwolves a scoring punch off the bench as they fought for the #1 seed. For Sacramento, McLaughlin will be replacing the role vacated by Davion Mitchell. Mitchell also made strides as a three point shooter last season, but only managed to make 36.1% of his total attempts, often being left wide open by opposing teams who dared him to shoot.
McLaughlin also seems more comfortable as a playmaker than someone like Davion Mitchell, averaging 6.3 assists per 36 minutes and turning the ball over at a miniscule rate of 1.1 times per 36 minutes last season. Davion only posted an assist to turnover ration of 4.4:1.4 per 36 minutes. The Kings have often treated Malik Monk as the de facto Point Guard off the bench, but McLaughlin provides a more pure example, while also being effective enough as a shooter to not be ignored off the ball as well.
Davion’s calling card was his defense however, so how does McLaughlin stand in that regard? While McLaughlin doesn’t have great size at just 6’0, he plays well defensively and is particularly good as a ballhawk, with a steal rate commensurate with De’Aaron Fox. McLaughlin also appears in 4 of the top 25 two-man lineups to post a defensive rating of under 100 points per 100 possessions per NBA.com. The only players with as many pairings in the Top 25 are New York’s OG Anunoby (who owns the top 3) and Houston’s Jae’Sean Tate. There was one Kings combination of two-players that made that top 25 list as well: Davion Mitchell & Keon Ellis, who posted a defensive rating of 97.9 when together. McLaughlin and Ellis could be similarly effective. Defense is of course a team concept, and the Kings don’t nearly have the same length that Minnesota possessed, but McLaughlin still seems like he’s no slouch in that regard.
McLaughlin should also have an easy path to playing time early on in the season as one of his biggest competitors for minutes, rookie Devin Carter, is going to be out for a while as he recovers from shoulder surgery. McLaughlin is here on a one year deal, so this is a chance for him to make a name for himself and earn a larger, long term contract to boot. If he can provide a consistent effort and steadying presence on both ends of the court, he may very well find himself a long term home here.
Play hard, hit your shots, and Kings fans will embrace a player. Pretty simple stuff.
And don’t be a mouth breather.
Many mouth breathers have been worshipped when they wore a Kings uniform.
JM was one of those guys who, when he entered the game, I said “good”. Now we roll since he cannot do anything. But then he did something, and I said, that’s luck or that’s unusual.
He reminds me a bit of Monte Morris.
I hope he plays better than Davion. He shoots better and he passes for assists better. Davion had a tendency to go across the court, back and forth and not to the basket.
Defense- we shall see.
It would be interesting to see an undrafted guy (actually 2 of them) outperform and #10 pick
In free agency, the Kings got the last McLaughlin.
This is the kind of rhetorik I’m here for.
I am sort of new here. Is rhetorik an inside joke?
Checking the NBA 3 point percentage leaders – Jordan McLaughlin doesn’t hit the minimum attempts (#26 on the list was Malcolm Brogdon with 199, but none with less attempts).
If he can hit 47.2% 3FG, that is better than last season’s leader, Grayson Allen’s 46.2%. (Random caught me eye, statistic – #39 Donte DiVincenzo had 705 attempts (40.1%), Luka Doncic had 744 attempts (38.2%) and #32 Steph Curry had 856 (!) attempts (40.8%).
Maybe we can call him, On Night.
Other 3Point points: Kings 16th in 3GF%, 3rd in 3FGA. No Sacramento Kings in the Top 50 for 3FG%. Only Kings in Top 50 FGA #13 De’Aaron Fox (36.9%), #26 Keegan Murray (35.8%)
I’m not sure he’ll play much on a standard night with no foul trouble for De’Aaron or Monk and no injuries.
Brown likes to stagger Fox and Sabonis, effectively leading to a 9 man rotation. Assume Keon starts. Could be Monk but assume Keon for now. Monk, Huerter, and Lyles come in. Len for Domas. But when Domas comes out, Fox comes in. And that’s your bench unit – Fox, Monk, Kevin, Lyles, Len.
If Brown decides to play Domas and Fox together pretty much all the time, then McLaughlin can be the backup 1. That would be a change. And of course, injuries, foul trouble, and just randomness will lead to him getting some minutes regardless.
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