While he still is recovering from a torn ACL, Marshall could be a great fit for Philadelphia.
As Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports recently reported would happen, Kendall Marshall has officially signed a multi-year contract with the 76ers, with 2015-16 fully guaranteed.
Still recovering from an ACL injury that cut his third season short, Marshall has upped his field-goal percentage in each of his subsequent seasons, from 37.1 percent as a freshman on the Suns, to 40.6 percent as a sophomore with the Lakers, and 45.5 percent as a junior for the Bucks.
Appearing in a career-high 54 games in 2013-14, Marshall averaged 8.0 points and 8.8 assists in 29 minutes per game while committing only 2.8 turnovers—a solid showing in spite of Los Angeles’ shipwreck status. Prior to joining the Lakers that year, he also spent a brief bit of time with the 76ers’ D-League team, the Delaware 87ers.
In his third season, the former Tar Heel showed that his improvement from beyond the arc between his first and second seasons was no illusion, sinking 39.9 percnt from three as a sophomore, and 39.1 percent as a junior. Further, after shooting 57.1 percent and 52.8 percent from the free-throw line during his first two seasons, he connected on 88.9 percent in 2014-15, albeit on only 0.3 attempts per game.
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Adam McGee of Behind the Buck Pass argued that Milwaukee should have re-signed Marshall, whose efficiency off-the-bench helped the 2013-14 cellar-dwelling Bucks get off to a spectacular start in 2014-15, going so far as to say that Marshall’s abilities may surpass Michael Carter-Williams’. Though many, including myself, have been skeptical of plenty of Philly’s moves, I have to agree with McGee here.
Marshall may be unlikely to match MCW on the defensive end, but only one of the two players has made significant strides with their shot—an essential skill that becomes even more crucial when considering the Sixers’ team is apparently being re-constructed to complement a trio of tall trees.
Sure, Marshall was primarily playing against backups last season, but his offensive ascension in areas that were once weaknesses will likely earn him starter status for the Sixers in 2015-16—so long as he can get healthy and beat out Tony Wroten and Pierre Jackson for the job. A master of the pick-and-roll with great floor vision, K-Butter is smooth and smart with the ball in his hands. When imagining the alert lefty throwing entry passes to Jahlil Okafor, lobbing to Nerlens Noel, and kicking it out to Robert Covington and Nik Stauskas, it’s easy to get excited about the potential for Philly’s offense to become respectable this season.
It may be too early to start talking playoffs, even in the Eastern Conference. However, Philadelphia may have finally found a piece of the puzzle at the point guard position.
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