The NBA Finals are now in the rear view mirror as the Miami Heat hoisted the Larry O’Brien trophy, and TONIGHT all the draft speculation will be over as the 2012 NBA Draft gets underway. The ‘consensus’ picks, the sleepers, the trades, and the buzz that surrounds the draft will be either all be confirmed or will have the insiders & experts scrambling to report what’s going down.
There has been a lot of discussion as to whether or not the Toronto Raptors should trade their pick as a package to bring in a proven player that fills a current need, or do they keep the pick and draft a player to help them continue to build their core and add to the Raptors’ ‘youth movement’? HoopHeadsNorth.com contributor Ryan Aleong has his own thoughts on what the Toronto Raptors should do with the 8th overall pick in tonight’s 2012 NBA Draft.
The Safe Pick: Kendall Marshall (written by Ryan Aleong):
The basketball gods did not look favourably on the Toronto Raptors for the 2012 NBA Draft Lottery and kept them at the 8th overall selection.
Based on various mock drafts, it is safe to assume the likes of Anthony Davis, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Thomas Robinson, Bradley Beal, and Harrison Barnes will have already been selected. So what options are available for the Raptors? Damian Lillard, Jeremy Lamb, and Perry Jones III would be appealing. However, Canada’s team could do worse than selecting University of North Carolina point guard Kendall Marshall.
Marshall doesn’t fit the current point guard model of Derrick Rose, John Wall, or Kyrie Irving. He isn’t a dynamic scorer, nor does he have their explosive speed. Toronto does need a point guard to follow Jose Calderon who has one year left on his contract. But why Marshall? Because he possesses the intangibles you want in a point guard.
It is generally accepted that point guards need to make their teammates better. They need to have the ability to “see the floor”. And they most certainly must be able to offer some sort of resistance on defence as the first point of attack. Marshall does all of these things.
Watching a number of UNC games this season, Marshall made passes which earned him praises as a ‘point-god’. There is a calm to his game, he surveys the play as it develops, instinctively knowing when he needs to push the tempo in the open floor or slow it down in the half court.
To illustrate his ability to make his teammates better, you need only look at these statistical number compiled by DraftExpress.com:
While not a lock down defender and lacking any sort of lateral quickness, Marshall’s size at 6’4” will allow him to back off his man just a tad to compensate, either to close out on jumpers or to recover if his man looks to blow by. Additionally, having someone like Jonas Valanciunas guarding the rim coupled with Dwane Casey’s defensive schemes should mask some of the deficiencies in Marshall’s game.
The UNC sophomore also understands the aspects of his game he needs to work on most, as he illustrated in an interview with Joseph Treutlein of DraftExpress.com:
Marshall is most commonly compared to Andre Miller. In a 1999 interview with David Steele of the San Francisco Chronicle, Miller did not shy away from the knocks against him: too slow, can’t shoot, no lateral quickness, hard time guarding quicker players. Sound familiar?
However, you’re talking about a guard who has amassed 7472 assists, ranking him 10th in NBA history. While not All-Star, Hall of Fame worthy, Miller has played in 80+ games each season since he was drafted 8th overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers (save this past season).
Without a definitive ‘program changer’ available outside of Anthony Davis, the Raptors can focus on acquiring pieces via free agency or trade. They could take a flyer in the hopes that Lillard can become a point guard, hope Jones will find consistency to his game, or Lamb has the motor for the NBA game. Or they can solidify their point guard situation for years to come.
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