Celtics Interested In Kendall Marshall

[kozlodoev]

The scouting report on Marshall is that he's slow, can't defend, and that his shot needs much work.

That sounds an awful lot like Orien Greene.

No it doesn't. Orien Greene was not slow or hindered from playing good defense by a lack of athleticism.

Kendall is a very good passer and a subpar athlete who can't finish in the paint and is an erratic shooter from outside. Orien was a great athlete who was a subpar shooter and passer.

Um, Greene was a great passer. The problem is, he couldn't do anything else, which made him look quite comical at times.

[Galeto]

The scouting report on Marshall is that he's slow, can't defend, and that his shot needs much work.

That sounds an awful lot like Orien Greene.

No it doesn't. Orien Greene was not slow or hindered from playing good defense by a lack of athleticism.

Kendall is a very good passer and a subpar athlete who can't finish in the paint and is an erratic shooter from outside. Orien was a great athlete who was a subpar shooter and passer.

Um, Greene was a great passer. The problem is, he couldn't do anything else, which made him look quite comical at times.

You think he was a great passer? I guess we disagree. Greene averaged 3.8 assists/36 in around 15 minutes in his one year with Celtics. Marshall in the same amount of minutes, although in a lot fewer games, averaged 7.3 assists/36. I'm not saying that's definitive, I just think based on what I've seen, Marshall was on a different level passing-wise from Greene. Besides erratic outside shots, they're not comps for each other.

[clover]

We know marshall's weaknesses: not a great athlete, shooter finisher.

Some interesting positive stuff from last year on nbadraft.net that it sounds like we can use:

"Strengths: A brilliant, "natural" floor general ... Understands how to control the flow of the game ... Makes his teammates better ... Has the height and offensive awareness to see the entire court at all times ... Always dribbles with his head up ... Rewards teammates when they run the court ... Makes throwing outlet passes look effortless ... Has a very advanced sense of timing ... Understands when to slow or speed up the tempo of the game ... A creative passer that also manages to be efficient ... Low turnover rate ... Operates equally well when running or playing in half-court sets ... Already knows the nuances of making good post-entry passes ... Can throw a highly accurate lob pass from anywhere on his team's half of the court ... Handles the basketball very well ... Wastes no movement and doesn't over-dribble (which is rare in young point guards) ... Is a good penetrator, despite his average speed ... Great reaction time and anticipation allows his to see plays before they develop ... Extremely high basketball IQ ... Smart defender that is capable of staying in front of his man ... Great size for a point guard, standing 6'4" ... Might be the best passer in the college game ...:"

http://nbadraft.net/players/kendall-marshall

He also was #12 in the draft and is still only 22. I think that's worth something.  Notably he hasn't been picked up/gone abroad/signed with the DL. I guess he's holding out for an NBA roster spot and will probably get one.

[Finkelskyhook]

If we've seen anything so far...It's that there's no point guard on the court and the turnovers that come from that.  Either develop Pressey in Rondo's absence or get a freaking point guard.

[Yoki_IsTheName]

Pass.

Not a good defender and his ball handling and passing wont be enough of a positive.

We are throwing away the season right? Give me Scottie Reynolds instead.

[Endless Paradise]

Don't see how this guy is better than Pressey.  If the Celtics are gonna develop a pure point, they might as well focus on the guy they already have on the roster.

[pokeKingCurtis]

Don't see how this guy is better than Pressey.  If the Celtics are gonna develop a pure point, they might as well focus on the guy they already have on the roster.

A 7 inch height difference makes Marshall worth it.

[nickagneta]

How often do top 15 picks get cut from their teams after just a year? The number is pretty low. The reason is because you have to be pretty bad to be cut that soon after being that high of a pick.

Phoenix didn't want him. Washington didn't want him. A week later no one is even rumored to be interested in him.

Has to be a reason for that.

Couple that with the C's financial situation and the fact they have an inexperienced, rookie PG on the roster already, and I find the chances of getting Marshall to be pretty dang close to zero.

[Endless Paradise]

I've said this a few times before, but it bears repeating: Phoenix was one of the worst teams in the league last year.  Marshall was a lottery pick.  Yet, somehow he couldn't manage to carve out any playing time for himself on the Suns?  Hell, as someone noted, Ish Smith (who was undrafted and is really fortunate to still have a job in the NBA after three seasons) was retained in favor of Marshall -- and Smith was a throw-in from Milwaukee in the Caron Butler trade.  Consider the fact that Marshall also apparently has a bit of an attitude issue and I just don't see the appeal in the guy.  He's a pass-first point guard without any other NBA-level talent.

[LooseCannon]

Phoenix didn't want him. Washington didn't want him. A week later no one is even rumored to be interested in him.

The 76ers have been rumored as a team that might have an interest.

[LooseCannon]

I've said this a few times before, but it bears repeating: Phoenix was one of the worst teams in the league last year.  Marshall was a lottery pick.  Yet, somehow he couldn't manage to carve out any playing time for himself on the Suns?  Hell, as someone noted, Ish Smith (who was undrafted and is really fortunate to still have a job in the NBA after three seasons) was retained in favor of Marshall -- and Smith was a throw-in from Milwaukee in the Caron Butler trade.  Consider the fact that Marshall also apparently has a bit of an attitude issue and I just don't see the appeal in the guy.  He's a pass-first point guard without any other NBA-level talent.

I'd argue that a guy rejected from a team that seems to be bad at talent evaluation isn't necessarily a guy who is worthless.  For example, the Cavs waived second-year player Danny Green in October, just before the start of the 2010-2011 season.  The Spurs signed him, waived him, then re-signed him a few months later after some time in the D-League.  The next season, he started more than half the team's games.

It is not necessarily a strike against Marshall that the Suns have been looking to trade him since last season.  It is a strike against him that new Suns GM Ryan McDonough (credited with pushing the Celtics to draft Rondo and Bradley in his time with Boston) didn't feel like keeping him around as part of a rebuilding phase.

I'd probably be more interested in gambling on a draft bust from a poorly-run team than a draft bust from a team with a good track record for evaluating talent.

Marshall seems like a guy who I wouldn't want to sign right now unless it was for an unguaranteed contract that I could easily waive, but I'd probably keep tabs on him if he went to the D-League.

[Endless Paradise]

I've said this a few times before, but it bears repeating: Phoenix was one of the worst teams in the league last year.  Marshall was a lottery pick.  Yet, somehow he couldn't manage to carve out any playing time for himself on the Suns?  Hell, as someone noted, Ish Smith (who was undrafted and is really fortunate to still have a job in the NBA after three seasons) was retained in favor of Marshall -- and Smith was a throw-in from Milwaukee in the Caron Butler trade.  Consider the fact that Marshall also apparently has a bit of an attitude issue and I just don't see the appeal in the guy.  He's a pass-first point guard without any other NBA-level talent.

I'd argue that a guy rejected from a team that seems to be bad at talent evaluation isn't necessarily a guy who is worthless.  For example, the Cavs waived second-year player Danny Green in October, just before the start of the 2010-2011 season.  The Spurs signed him, waived him, then re-signed him a few months later after some time in the D-League.  The next season, he started more than half the team's games.

It is not necessarily a strike against Marshall that the Suns have been looking to trade him since last season.  It is a strike against him that new Suns GM Ryan McDonough (credited with pushing the Celtics to draft Rondo and Bradley in his time with Boston) didn't feel like keeping him around as part of a rebuilding phase.

I'd probably be more interested in gambling on a draft bust from a poorly-run team than a draft bust from a team with a good track record for evaluating talent.

Marshall seems like a guy who I wouldn't want to sign right now unless it was for an unguaranteed contract that I could easily waive, but I'd probably keep tabs on him if he went to the D-League.

Oh, I'd certainly agree.  Case in point: Tobias Harris couldn't see any time when he was with the Bucks, yet he became the Magic's best player once he was traded to Orlando.  But everything I've heard about Marshall makes it seems like he's gonna have to be a D-League reclamation project more so than anything else.