The Sacramento Kings turned down the Milwaukee Bucks' trade offer of Michael Carter-Williams for Ben McLemore, according to ESPN's Marc Stein. This follows ESPN's Zach Lowe reporting that the Bucks called about McLemore and are "open to moving" either Carter-Williams or Greg Monroe, who have both been moved to the bench and have been in trade rumors since last season.
From the Bucks' side, this is not surprising. Carter-Williams fits their defensive identity, but his lack of a reliable jump shot is a problem for an offense that doesn't have enough spacing elsewhere. With Khris Middleton out because of hamstring surgery, they could use another shooter -- the recently acquired Michael Beasley isn't going to draw the same amount of defensive attention at the 3-point line as someone like McLemore.
For the Kings, this is interesting. Sacramento needs a point guard more than any team in the league, but it clearly didn't not think highly enough of Carter-Williams to do this deal. This could be a reflection of the league's waning confidence in Carter-Williams ever becoming a respectable jump shooter, the Kings' reluctance to deal with Carter-Williams' contract situation or their belief in McLemore reaching his potential.
Carter-Williams is in a contract year, and he'll be a restricted free agent this summer -- in order to keep him around, Sacramento would probably have to invest in him long-term. McLemore is in the same boat, but new Kings coach Dave Joerger has raved about him recently. While last season was disappointing for McLemore, the organization must still have hope that it can get the best out of him.
