Everything about the JaVale McGee experience is odd. It’s been that way for years, so it should have come as no surprise, but it was weird from the very beginning of his tenure with the Sacramento Kings. When the Dallas Mavericks waived McGee, the Kings were quickly at the forefront of his possible destinations, and within days McGee had decided on joining the Kings over teams like the Golden State Warriors. On paper, the move made sense. JaVale would provide size, length, and shot-blocking, and bolster Sacramento’s big man depth. But signing him also meant abruptly ending the expected training camp battle between Neemias Queta and Nerlens Noel, with both players being waived to allow them other opportunities.
Looking back on the 2023-24 season, and it’s hard to argue that it was a good or bad move. McGee is a beloved figure in the NBA, and seems like a truly lovable bench presence. On the court, he’s less impactful these days. McGee appeared in 46 games, averaging 4 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 0.4 assists while averaging 7.4 minutes per game. JaVale is a perfectly fine 3rd-string center. Break glass in case of foul trouble.
The issue with McGee this season was that for much of the year Mike Brown tried to use him as the team’s second-string center. McGee played regular rotation minutes until early February. Even when Alex Len would get an opportunity and look better than McGee, and even though Len had played great for the Kings down the stretch of the previous season, Brown stuck with McGee for way too long. It’s hard to know what makes a coach decide these things, and in the grand scheme it’s probably not worth fretting too much about how a coach allocates 7-10 minutes per game among his backup centers, but it was really, really confusing to watch this season.
McGee, who turned 36 this season, said in his exit interview that he has no interest in retiring:
JaVale McGee, who just completed his sixteenth season in the NBA, says he has “no interest in retiring at all.”
— Brenden Nunes (@BrendenNunesNBA) April 22, 2024
McGee was only on a one-year contract with the Kings and is now an unrestricted free agent. I’d be surprised if the Kings retained McGee, as there will likely be cheaper options for a third center. If this is the end for JaVale in Sac, I’ll wish him well. I have no bad feelings towards him, but I also don’t really have great feelings either.
In general, Javale felt like he had higher highs and lower lows compared to Len. Some of the things that he can still do just drop the jaw. He’s lost more athleticism than most NBA player would ever have, and at times could make all the difference…
That said, Javale is Javale. While having a tighter focus than those Shaqtin MVP days, there were just too many critical fails. With Len authoring a really tight season of his own and the critical successes a bit too infrequent, there’s a reason he fell out of the rotation in the end.
Good vibes, but just not really someone we need playing anything more than spot minutes.
nice try for an old guy- some highlights, some uninspired play
1 out 5 stars. Do not recommend.
Low-risk, low-impact signing. Say oh well and move on.
Javale is a businessman…not a basketball player. Kings paid him so he appeared as requested.
Who is next?
Next year’s McGee? I’m going to go with Nic Batum. The Kings are always good for one washed vet minimum deal for “locker room” reasons.
We don’t play defense and we are soft. Find a guy who has won and has a “presence”.
imagine being like a real NBA team and getting this in an active player that can still play.
Why not Pat Beverly here?
No offense to the big guy, but I just don’t think he was of much value to the Kings this year except for being a good locker room guy.
What did he do in the locker room?
You can put Javale, Colby Jones, Jalen Slawson, Edwards in one write up three sentences on each.
No thanks. Part of the fun of this series is spending time thinking about, writing about, and discussing one player at a time. It gives us an opportunity to dive deeper than we normally would, especially for end of bench guys. And frankly, there’s not much else happening around the Kings at the moment. So we’ll just do things our way.
One of Mike Brown’s guys.
I’m glad Brown isn’t our GM.
And I hope that after convincing Monte to bring in the likes of Moneke, Okpala and McGee, Brown will now focus solely on coaching.
We saw many an instance where JaVale led a huddle chant or three.
His teammates seemed to like and respect his outgoing nature. His on court play sometimes devolved into antics but overall he’s an older veteran who still plays like a rookie – and if he were (a rookie), we’d wonder if he could put it all together some day.
If he were entering the League today, his comp might be Bol Bol. His presence was much how I viewed DeAndre Jordan on Denver. I wonder if Dwight Howard would be the “oh no he didn’t” version of this same grouping. Interestingly, Brook Lopez is also 36 and Al Horford is 38!
Gimme Alex Len. And find a project 5 in place of the very likable JaVale McGee.
I see your Bol Bol and raise you a Mo Bamba. I could see Monte signing either of those two this summer to minimum deals.
Bamba might be a good investment. He won’t cost much and has some upside still.
Queta was a much better investment. I’ve always liked Javale (especially as a former University of Nevada star) and his game, and appreciate his efforts whenever he’s on the court.
Zach Edey looks like the perfect replacement.
Badge Legend