Ferrell-Fox backcourt for Kings? ‘Us playing together is going to be really special’

Kings guard Yogi Ferrell is trying to carve out a role for himself after coming to Sacramento over the summer as one of the team’s key offseason acquisitions.

Ferrell, a 6-foot combo guard, signed a two-year, $6.2 million deal with the Kings in July. He is expected to log backup minutes at point guard and shooting guard.

Ferrell explained why he chose to sign with Sacramento following the team’s morning practice Friday at Golden 1 Center.

“I want to be a part of something that can be building long term and to create a dynasty, and that’s what really brought me and attracted me to Sacramento – their youth and their style of play,” Ferrell said.

Ferrell is an explosive scorer who averaged 10.2 points per game for Dallas last season, shooting 42.6 percent from the field and 37.3 percent from 3-point range. He had five 20-point games, including a season-high 24 points against Denver on March 6. He made 9 of 11 from beyond the arc and scored a career-high 32 points against Portland as a rookie in 2016-17.

With elite quickness, Ferrell figures to be a good fit for the Kings, who are emphasizing an up-tempo style this season under third-year coach Dave Joerger.

“We’re going to play fast,” Ferrell said. “I feel like that’s the main thing coach wants to do is to get up and down, so we’ve been doing a lot of conditioning, getting our wind right, and you’re going to see it.

“I know coach wants to get up and down faster. He wants to shoot a lot more shots, shoot the first available shot if it’s a good shot, shoot a lot more 3s – push the pace – so I’m just trying to add that to the team.”

Joerger said he anticipates situations in which he will play Ferrell alongside De’Aaron Fox, the team’s starting point guard.

“It just gives us another weapon to use each other to push the ball up the court,” Ferrell said. “He can throw it to me up the court, I can penetrate the lane and kick it back out to him, and he can come downhill. He’s one of the fastest guards I’ve played with, so us playing together is going to be really special.”

McLemore shines – The absence of second-year guard Bogdan Bogdanovic has given the coaching staff an opportunity to take a closer look at other players, including Ben McLemore. Bogdanovic was back in Sacramento on Friday but is expected to miss four to six weeks after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his left knee earlier this week in New York.

McLemore logged four seasons with the Kings before spending the 2017-18 season in Memphis. He returned to Sacramento in July in the trade that sent Garrett Temple to the Grizzlies.

“Ben’s had a terrific camp,” Joerger said. “He’s played really, really well, so that’s encouraging.”

Spreading the floor – Joerger said free agent acquisition Nemanja Bjelica has been a nice addition to the team. The 6-foot-10 power forward shot 41.5 percent from 3-point range last season for Minnesota.

“Bjelica has been really good for us as a stretch (power forward),” Joerger said. “(He) gives us a lot of space on the court. … Our point guard (Fox) is one of the faster guys in the league and playing with space guys is to his benefit.”

Basketball operations – The Kings announced two new additions to their basketball operations staff. Adam Filippi, who previously served as director of global scouting for the Charlotte Hornets, has joined the organization as director of pro scouting. Anthony Darmiento joined the Kings as assistant performance coach after serving in a similar capacity with USA Volleyball, USA Water Polo and the USA Olympic Committee.

This story was originally published September 28, 2018 at 4:43 PM.