Ray McCallum – 2018-19 G-League Player Profile

June 20th, 2019

Ray McCallum

PG – 6’3, 190lbs – Born 12th June1991

   Agua Caliente Clippers   

McCallum joined the Clippers in February after beginning the season with Turkish team Darussafaka, with whom he had averaged 9.4 points and 4.1 assists per game in EuroLeague play, his second consecutive season in the world’s second-best league. Of course, his –24 net rating in EuroLeague play speaks to how well both his and Darussafaka’s season went up there; back in the EuroLeague after a year away, Darussafaka went a measly 5-25 in the regular season and finished stone cold last. Nevertheless, rare is the occasion that an EL player comes directly to the G-League.

By the time McCallum joined them, the Clippers already had a good backcourt going, so it was his job to fit in around them. This arguably could work better for McCallum, who, despite his pedigree and NBA experience, I would argue is better as a role playing guard than as a lead creator. As things stand, McCallum mostly works on the ball, yet creating with the ball in his hands has never been his most efficient route, considering his limited athleticism and thus ability to create space.

Instead, McCallum should work best as a savvy role player. He plays with energy on defence, and although he never takes all that many of them, he has become an excellent catch-and-shoot three-point shooter over the years. He should take more of them, frankly, yet McCallum’s core instinct is to get in the paint, work the mid-range game, push the ball and make things happen. Those are all fine, and as a heady high-IQ player, he does them well enough. I really feel as though McCallum works best on the move, though. So find someone to pair him with who can be the end-of-the-shot-clock guy and defend the bigger and more athletic opponents, work McCallum off the ball more in the half court, and see if that doesn’t remedy the EuroLeague net rating a bit.

– 20th June, 2019

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