Yogi Ferrell’s current role on the Kings (roughly fifteen MPG per game as backup PG) is bigger than he could have ever expected it to be before De’Aaron Fox injured himself right out of the lineup. At the beginning of the season, when Fox was was still active, Ferrell was getting DNP’s, so you know that Luke Walton wasn’t planning to use him much this season.
Since he’s actually getting minutes now, Ferrell has to take full advantage to ensure that he doesn’t go back to being the forgotten man on the roster once Fox returns. That means demonstrating to his teammates and coaches that he has value on the court that can’t be provided by someone else. That means his credential of “chief bringer of bags of Burger King food to the bench” is not true value, because another player could easily sneak away from the bench during the game to buy Burger King for everybody to eat while they wait to check back in. Ferrell’s value has to be unique to him.
I’ve given it some thought, and the only way that Ferrell can differentiate himself from primary positional rival Cory Joseph in a meaningful way is to be a more active scorer than Joseph. Ferrell’s done a good job of this the past two games, scoring 13 and now 17 points. However, that might not be enough. Either Ferrell’s gotta start scoring in the twenties sometimes to take away that primary backup PG spot from Joseph, or Ferrell’s gotta pursue…other means…to get Joseph off the team. The “other means” I’m thinking of involve baseball bats, home invasions, and screams of pain. Screams of pain echoing through the night.