Kendall Marshall is making the claim to be the Lakers point guard of the future.
An extensive amount of hype is placed around the NBA Draft Lottery, as it should be. Who wouldn’t want to have a shot at the best of the best of the newest crop of young talent? Though there are times when the player is not the problem. At times, the franchise is the source of a “busted” lottery pick.
Kendall Marshall is proving it.
Marshall was selected No. 13 overall by the Phoenix Suns in the 2012 NBA Draft out of North Carolina. He was supposed to be the guy who “replaced” Steve Nash — as if Nash could be replaced. Unfortunately for Marshall, the dominoes just didn’t fall the way he would have hoped.
A consistent Goran Dragic and the emergence of the newly acquired Eric Bledsoe combined to send Marshall packing — and he didn’t even get a first class ticket. He was traded to Washington in the Marcin Gortat trade, but the Wizards almost immediately waived him.
Enter Mitch Kupchak and the Los Angeles Lakers.
With an ailing Nash (ironically), the Lakers needed some depth at point guard because Jordan Farmar and Steve Blake were also sidelined with injuries. Los Angeles picked up the former Tarheel, and the move has paid dividends.
Since joining the “Lake Show” in December, Marshall has flipped the switch and played like a video game character.
He’s averaging 10.5 points and 9.5 assists a game, but because he’s only played in 18 games, he doesn’t yet qualify to be a league leader in assists. The numbers are staggering for a guy who was considered a bust by many, but even the statistics don’t do his game justice.
Marshall is distributing the ball with precision and timing. He’s racking up assist after assist… without Kobe Bryant. Other than Pau Gasol, Marshall has to look — sometimes he doesn’t even look — to Nick Young, Jodie Meeks and Wesley Johnson to convert buckets. That isn’t exactly an all-star cast.
The only damp spot of his game right now is his carelessness with the rock. In those 18 games, he’s averaging 2.8 turnovers a contest. Ideally, he has to drop that figure if the Lakers are going to have a shot to compete with him at the helm. And let’s be honest, 3.4 assists for every turnover is respectable.
Sure, 10.5 points a game isn’t exactly “going Kobe” in the NBA, but it’s a leap up from where he was at in Phoenix. But his offensive efficiency is more than above par. Marshall is shooting about 44.5 percent from the field and 47 percent from three.
It’s only his second year in the league. Have we reached the point now where a player is a bust if he isn’t phenomenal from the start? What happened to developing players? Nash had to develop. He wasn’t superb early on, and neither was Marshall.
If Marshall continues the way he’s going, the Lakers could get the last laugh. Farmar and Blake are free agents after this year, and Nash is still trying to fit his false teeth in. I’m not saying Nash can’t still run with the league, but it’s always about the future. A 22-year-old Marshall is looking like he’s the future of the Lakers.
Marshall could play himself into a long-term deal with the Lakers. He won’t demand too much of a pay raise because, hey, he’s only had one good year — assuming he keeps playing this well.
He’s fitting into the Jeremy Lin role. He was a forgotten point guard who shocked the league and gets a contract based on potential. It’s worked out well for Houston thus far.
Los Angeles will have money to spend in the next couple years. There has been a lot of talk about Kevin Love making the trip out to the west coast. Another star might follow him.
If Marshall pays off for L.A., the Lakers could build a serious, youthful championship contender.
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