RealGM

Marcelus Kemp is close to a deal with the Los Angeles Lakers, his agent said Tuesday.

Kemp, a former Nevada shooting guard, was not selected in the NBA draft last week.

"We haven't closed on a deal," agent John Grieg said. "We are essentially headed that route with the Lakers, but I really can't discuss it at the moment."

Kemp, a two-time first-team All-Western Athletic Conference selection and 2008 NABC All-District honoree, ranked second in the WAC in scoring last season at 20 points per game. He is second on Nevada's all-time scoring list with 1,939 points, and he set the school record for 3-pointers made (227).

Despite putting up very impressive numbers each of the last two seasons, Marcelus Kemp was always stuck in the shadow of his better known teammate Nick Fazekas. With Fazekas in his first year at the professional level now though, Kemp has emerged not only as the leader of the Wolfpack, but as one of the top players in the WAC.

Physically, Kemp has strengths and weaknesses. At 6’5”, the senior has average size for the two-guard spot in the NBA, and does not show to versatility to suggest that he could play any other position. Kemp is built very solidly though, packing 218 pounds onto his frame. This helps him a lot when it comes to fighting through screens, rebounding inside and dealing with contact from defenders. Kemp is an average overall athlete; he has decent quickness, and shows great strength and body control. He is also lacking somewhat is his abilities as a leaper, not being particularly explosive finishing around the basket.

The majority of Kemp’s possessions on offense come in isolation situations. This isn’t surprising since he is the team’s top scoring weapon and since he is responsible for more than a quarter of the Wolfpack’s shot attempts per game. Kemp is at his most effective here when he puts the ball on the floor and slashes to the basket. He knows how to get into the paint and does a fairly good job of breaking down defenders thanks to his good basketball instincts. His decent quickness is offset however by his ball-handling skills which need to improve. Kemp is quick enough where he could get into the lane at the next level, but his somewhat average dribbling ability often leaves him a half step too slow.

Once in the lane, things get interesting for Kemp. Despite his great body control and his ability to get himself decent looks at the rim, he struggles to finish inside in traffic. Again, having a stronger vertical leap would allow him to elevate over defenders and finish with great ease, but often in contorting himself around opponents he loses the touch on his shot. Once positive note for Kemp, though, is his tenacity on the offensive glass. He averages nearly 1.5 offensive rebounds per game, the majority of which come from his own misses. He uses his strong frame well to gain position, and often simply just outworks other players to get the ball.

Kemp’s biggest strength however is his midrange game. His ability to pull up off the dribble and knock shots down consistently is very impressive for a player at the college level. He likes the step back and does a good job of creating space for himself to shoot on the move. Kemp has nice shooting form, but has a tendency to kick out his feet and fade away on a lot of shot attempts. He is a solid perimeter shooter as well, connecting on nearly 39% of his attempts this season. From beyond the arc, he is primarily a catch and shoot player, but one that can hurt opposing teams if he is left open.

DubaLakers wrote:Bait and switch, lol. I saw Kemp I'm like WTF how old is rain man now? Joe Crawford, now Kemp, both 2 guards...I'm thinking Sasha is gone. Mitch has his backup plan ready if the machine walks.