Raptors NBA Draft Thread: Kendall Marshall

[Mediocrity]

If we end up picking eighth, and are stuck picking between Lilard, Jones, and Marshall, I would pick Marshall ten times out of ten. I think that people watch Marshall and do not see the crazy dunks like Westbrook or Rose, or the mind-blowing passes of Nash or Rubio and think that he will be terrible. But a PG who can get everyone involved and showed an evolving offensive game late in the year would be a very nice consolation prize, and I would love to see him and Jonas running the pick and roll. I am a believer that defense can be taught, and we have one of the best in the business, so why not take him?

[Relentless88]

I think he almost HAS to add a 3 point shot to be a starting PG in this league. He's not athletic which limits him defensively. Can he keep up with the likes of Rose, Westbrook and Wall (new generation of PGs that are extremely quick and athletic)? He is a very good floor general and you saw that last year at UNC. The team completely turned around when he was made the starting PG. Not much of a scorer, but that might not be a big concern if a team drafting him has scoring from other areas.

[Saint Fu]

Would you rather have Lillard looking for his own shot all the time or have Kendall Marshall working the pick n roll with Bargnani and Valančiūnas?

As far as Marshall's scoring goes, is it that he can't or he won't? He averaged 6.3 FGA this past season, which is the lowest of any of the top 20 prospects for this draft. Lillard averaged 15.5, Tony Wroten 12.8, Marquis Teague 8.8.

Marshall is a proven winner, the Tarheels could barely beat Ohio without him. Unlike Lillard, there are no questions about the quality of competition he faced.

In my opinion, PG is the Raptors biggest need, and without a doubt, Marshall is the best pure point guard in this draft. If Ricky Rubio can succeed in the NBA, Marshall can.

[TCHOKE]

im warming up on marshall, toss up between lillard and marshall if we want to draft a pg

[Brinbe]

Not a huge sample size, but Marshall definitely showed that he could score a bit during the last month of the season before the wrist injury. Decent numbers against good competition. http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketb ... l-marshall

[kingz32]

Since we are all aware of a need to have a 'change of guard' literally at our PG position with a player who can dramatically improve our offensive production just by the way he sees the game and puts his teammates in positions to score. He may not have a knack for scoring like Kyrie Irving but he has an amazing offensive awareness and I have no doubt that this kid has the potential if he works hard and gets better to possibly be in the contention for league leader in APG. Bringing in a big man like Valanciunas who thrives on the pick and roll and a player like Bargnani who is basically stationary until he gets the ball, we need a PG who can keep the defense honest by being unpredictable in his approach and maneuver almost the same way Steve Nash or Jason Kidd are and it opens the floor up for teammates. I also think that DeMar Derozan will be placed in better positions to score with a Kendall Marshall on the team because he won't be forced to put himself in a position in creator every time he touches the ball. With Kendall we'd have a guy that can do that for us. Bring him in and let Jose come off the bench or allow Jose to start and slowly warm up Kendall to take the reigns and I think we will have one of the better PG situations in the league. As for adding wing talent, I think that can be achieved through free agency or using our $12M of cap space before the draft to absorb a contract to fill that need. Regardless, with our position now falling to 7th, hopefully we are able to move up in the lottery, but if we aren't I think we should look at what a guy like Marshall can bring to our team.

[kingz32]

That's a good question. Probably as you said, someone in that Andre Miller mold (which would work, since Andre was also drafted 8th overall in 99 haha). I concede that he probably won't be as good a scorer though.

And I'd probably take Sully, but I don't think I'd like it. I'm also operating on the idea that he's already gone.

Anyway, I believe Marshall's in the argument for BPA at that spot, but this idea of BPA is so subjective. At that point, there's no clear pecking order, and if he's the guy, just take him and trust your judgment. Kendall's projection may not be high as others, and his strengths (aside from assists) are more intangibles-based, so he may not stack up well when we're comparing these guys on pure numbers. But as I said, after four years in the lottery, we arguably already have a lot of the core talent in Bargs/DD/Val/Ed, we just need that glue to mold that disparate mix together and make it easier for them individually.

Just watch this video of his performance against a good FSU team
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhaTKn8oFg8[/youtube]

He just controls the game and makes plays. And after seeing that, any notion that he's purely a Jose is washed away.

I agree with everything you just said. We need that glue guy like Marshall to enhance everyone's individual capabilities. You can see that he does a lot of work to get the big men in good scoring position. I think that he would have a big impact on Val/Ed more than he would have on Bargnani because of their positioning tendencies under the rim whereas Bargs will create for himself. We need a PG who can thrive in half court sets. When you get to the playoffs you need a team who can pick apart defenses in the half court. Jerry Bayless does not have this skill or patience. Calderon does however but a younger alternative that can actually guard guys and get steals in needed in Marshall. And obviously Marshall would learn so much just being paired up with Calderon in practice.

[Saint Fu]

There seems to be a misconception that Marshall can't shoot. It's not really that he can't shoot, he prefers to look to his teammates. This past season, he shot 46.7% from the field, exactly the same as Lillard, better than Beal's 44.5%. The only guard in the top 20 of mock drafts that shot better than Marshall was Jeremy Lamb with 47.8%.

Marshall attempted 8 shots or less in 31 of 36 games he played this year. In the games he attempted more than 8, his PPG was 15.2. He does have a 3 point shot too, he shot 35.4% from behind the arc this year, and 37.7% last year.

Don't attribute Marshall's lack of scoring to having a poor shot - he prefers to pass.

[JamesNaismith]

I don't want a mulatto version of Jose Calderon.

[whoknows]

Love him with 8th pick, I take High bball IQ over athleticism at PG any day.
We need a calm and composed floor leader to succeed.

[pspot]

would he be any better then just bringing in a vet pg?

I don't mind the idea of adding a safe pick but the draft seems like the chance to get talent and you roll the dice on that a bit.

[Waylon Mercy]

Love him with 8th pick, I take High bball IQ over athleticism at PG any day.
We need a calm and composed floor leader to succeed.

Haven't we had one since 2005?

[dballislife]

my problem with marshall is that he is exactly what jose is except jose is even better scorer than kendall which is sad, he wont get into the lanes, his passes will be just like jose's, simple unselfish direct passes to wings and into the posts and off cuts/curls/and pick and rolls...also he will be torched by the speed, power and athleticism of todays PGs

[Brinbe]

my problem with marshall is that he is exactly what jose is except jose is even better scorer than kendall which is sad, he wont get into the lanes, his passes will be just like jose's, simple unselfish direct passes to wings and into the posts and off cuts/curls/and pick and rolls...also he will be torched by the speed, power and athleticism of todays PGs

False
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-613mxY9nDY[/youtube]

[Undefeated]

All this discussion about Kendall Marshall being an All-Star is moot at this point. I don't think people realize just how good of a passer Marshall is because right after a defensive stop, Marshall's already prepared to dart an outlet pass down the floor. It's like he's got eyes at the back of his head because as soon as he turns his body, that ball is already out of his hand after a hand off. Throwing a pinpoint 25-foot pass down the court racing past every defender down the floor with the rare turnover is something not every PG can do. The precision of his passes landing perfectly into his teammates' hand is a very rare skill. Watching Marshall dish out passes, I can't get over the fact that his approach to the game is similar to Rajon Rondo. It's like he studies each and every one of his teammate where they like to catch the ball whether it's at the hip, mid-section or below the waist for a shot as soon as they catch it. No need to adjust their pick up. That skill is innate. Watching him do this all on the move with very little process time is truly phenomenal.

And his jumper isn't that broken. Anyone that followed UNC would know that he worked really hard on making those three-ball drop because defenders were cheating off of him left and right, so he made the defense pay by converting 42.5% of shots from 3-PT in his last 15 games in comparison to the ~30.8% his shot from 3-PT in his first 15 games. The spike in his 3-PT% only shows he's improving his shooting. Also, which left-handed shooter can't shoot?

Marshall might not be an athlete that can zoom down the floor within 3-seconds or jump out of the gym with his leaping ability, but his lack of athletic tools is being severely magnified here. The game is all about screen-and-roll. With a good screen, any PG can set two feet in the painted area to beat their initial defender. It's all about knowing how to bait or misleading your defender into the space the pick is occupying. Defensively, strength and size are far more important physical traits to contain the dribble-drive up front. A PG like Kendall Marshall with his size and strength can steer the offensive player into the help defense when they're trying to drive into his body only bouncing away.

[whoknows]

People who criticize him most likely have not watched him play.
Guy is amazing on how well he can see the court, UNC success was in large due to him.
Sure he is not a great shooter (yet) but he is a true floor leader that will create for all.

Also Casey will get him to learn how to defend. Guy is a tall PG with a nice body who can turn into a very nice PG due to his high IQ.

Given the Raps need & draft position, I say he is the way to go.

[colangelosucks]

he kinda reminds me of Mark Jackson.

[lolwut]

my problem with marshall is that he is exactly what jose is except jose is even better scorer than kendall which is sad, he wont get into the lanes, his passes will be just like jose's, simple unselfish direct passes to wings and into the posts and off cuts/curls/and pick and rolls...also he will be torched by the speed, power and athleticism of todays PGs

False
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-613mxY9nDY[/youtube]

Ah, this video reminds me of why I don't watch NCAA ball.

[basketball royalty]

If we are looking to draft a PG then this is the guy I'd go for. However, I still think we would rather draft a SF and trade for a PF than the other way around because there are many more PGs in the L worth getting than SF.

[Kreamy]

Marshall is nothing like Calderon. He's constantly moving the ball and barely has it in his hands for more than 3 seconds. Unlike Calderon who dribbles down the shot clock and is careful to a fault.