Ben McLemore scored 12 points against the Lakers on Thursday, adding five boards, two assists, one steal and two 3-pointers in 29 minutes.

He scored 13 and hit three 3-pointers in Monday's game against the Warriors and has been able to get good looks at the hoop. McLemore had a rough go at summer league and couldn't get his own shot, so it's nice to see he's taking some steps in the right direction. He's worth a flier late in drafts, but is far from a lock for reliable production.

Ben McLemore "needs to continue to work on his ball-handling and creating shots," according to Kings coach Mike Malone.

McLemore will battle Marcus Thornton for minutes at SG, but Malone said that the "jury's out" on Jimmer Fredette, adding, "He can't be a defensive liability." The Kings have position battles everywhere but at center, and they'll be a key team to monitor during training camp.

Ben McLemore said his goals for his first season with the Kings include to "show everybody [he] could be the alpha dog and win that Rookie of the Year."

"I feel I come in with a chip on my shoulder," said the Kansas product, acknowledging his slide in the draft. While his aspirations are clear, McLemore's weak summer league performance (33 percent shooting and 18 turnovers) suggests that there is a still a learning curve to overcome before he can become a team's go-to guy. Still, he figures to get a chance to start at shooting guard this season and is one of the safest rookies for fantasy owners to draft.

The Kings have been trying to put Ben McLemore in situations he's not used to.

"We put Ben in situations he's not used to," assistant coach Chris Jent said. "He wasn't a stagger-screen guy in college, but we wanted to see how he does with that. Even in a few days, he was doing some things better, reading the defense, understanding that if you dribble and guys come at you, you don't have to keep going. Move the ball. And he can really run the floor." McLemore had some ball-security issues in Vegas this past week and struggled with his shot. He should continue to grow as a player this offseason.

Ben McLemore said he's not concerned about his troubling lack of ball security and poor shooting during the summer league.

McLemore turned the ball over 18 times and shot just 33 percent from the field, but he insists it's just part of the learning curve. "You have so much more space than in college," McLemore said, referring to the farther three-point line in the NBA. "It's just more open for me, and I have to get used to it. I'm going to get used to it. It's summer league, and I'm here to get better each and every day." We're not going to overreact, but fantasy owners should be aware of these issues before drafting McLemore this season.

Ben McLemore missed all eight of his field goal attempts in a 92-54 loss to the Wolves Wednesday, finishing with one point, five boards, no assists, one steal and three turnovers in 21 minutes.

The Kings shot 29.9 percent from the field, 55.0 percent from the line, they combined for nine assists, were blocked seven times, didn't record any blocks and allowed the Wolves to shoot 54 percent from the floor. Thankfully for the Kings, the Summer League tournament is double-elimination and they will play the Hawks on Friday, so get your tickets early. As for McLemore, he's having a tough time getting his own shot and his defense has been a tad underwhelming.

Ben McLemore turned his summer league around on Tuesday, shooting 8-of-14 from the field for a game-high 26 points with two boards, one steal, one block and three 3-pointers in 31 minutes.

He looked much better in his third summer-league game and hit 3-of-6 from downtown and knocked down all seven free throw attempts. McLemore showed the ability to get open and his elevation on his jumper gave him some nice looks at the hoop. Sacramento as a team was a bit jump-shooting happy against the Raptors, scoring just 16 points in the paint. The Kansas product could build up some serious momentum as we approach the regular season.

Ben McLemore had his second sub-par shooting night of summer league on Monday, making 4-of-12 from the field for 14 points with four boards, four turnovers and two 3-pointers.

He shot 5-of-23 in his summer-league debut on Saturday and he's now shot 3-of-18 combined from beyond the arc in the two games. McLemore has received plenty of praise from the Kings along the way and he should use his trip to Vegas as a learning experience. He'll be someone to watch by the time fantasy draft season comes around.

Kings coach Mike Malone said that Ben McLemore has to work on his shot selection and that he's more athletic than Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry.

"Obviously, [Curry and Thompson are] great shooters, but they're not the athletes Ben McLemore is," Malone said. "That's no knock on them, but the one thing we have to continue to work with Ben on is shot selection." Malone was a big part of the development in Thompson and Curry, so he would know quite a bit. He and McLemore are working on the former Jayhawk's footwork and the Kings seem really high on him. McLemore's career could be off to a fast start.

Ben McLemore's brief left knee injury wasn't a concern on Saturday, but his shooting percentage was -- he finished with 11 points on 4-of-23 FGs.

McLemore's errant night included 1-of-11 shooting from downtown, and he was clearly given a green light by a Kings' coaching staff more interested in evaluating their No. 7 draft pick than unsigned guys like Nick Minnerath and C.J. Aiken. McLemore shot 49.5 percent from the field with Kansas last season, including 42.0 percent from downtown, and he'll find the range before long. On a side note, McLemore also signed his rookie-scale contract on Saturday.

Ben McLemore injured his knee in the first half of Saturday's summer league game and returned in the second quarter.

Terrico White fell on him under the basket and McLemore was in some pain. It didn't look too bad and he was able to walk off the court under his own power and came out firing as he returned to the floor. McLemore signed his contract with the Kings today and they're hoping he can help fill the void left by Tyreke Evans. He should be good to go.