Suns draft kendall marshall at #13

[NashDishesDimes]

I really like this pick. Pure PGs are hard to come by. Draftexpress.com has him rated as the biggest steal of the draft. I doubt hell be steve nash but if hes averaging 11 assists and shooting a consistent jump shot then what more could you ask for in a franchise PG? Worst case scenario hes andre miller, best case - jason kidd.

Im sick of these selfish shoot-first PGs. Chemistry is far more important as weve seen from the great steve nash.

This is the first draft pick in years that ive agreed with. If you like score-first PGs and jungle ball, go follow the warriors.

 

[carey]

Worst case scenario hes andre miller, best case - jason kidd.

He's never going to be Jason Kidd. Kidd was a 9 time All-NBA defensive team member. Marshall's going to be lucky to stay in front of 1/2 the PGs in the league. I think best case scenario is Andre Miller, worst case Jose Calderon. That said, there wasn't much we could do after all the wings were picked before us. Houston brilliantly jumped us for Lamb. Very smart trade by them to move up 2 spots. I wish we would have entertained trading down.

I still have hope we buy a pick and snag another player at the end of the first. Moultrie is still on the board. So is PJIII.

 

[mojorizen7]

Read a couple scouting reports on him.
Good size for a PG. Sounds like there's potential for him having a well-rounded offensive game. Good passer,good vision,decent shooter....but needs to get better finishing around the rim.
But the bottom line for me is i dont like guards who cant defend. Typical Suns pick.

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[Chaplin]

Read a couple scouting reports on him.
Good size for a PG. Sounds like there's potential for him having a well-rounded offensive game. Good passer,good vision,decent shooter....but needs to get better finishing around the rim.
But the bottom line for me is i dont like guards who cant defend. Typical Suns pick.

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I thought typical Suns picks are soft tweeners (or nobody at all)? The last guard who can't defend the Suns drafted was... Casey Jacobsen, I guess.

 

[Chainthroer]

I was wishing Lamb would be available. But, this pick was almost a no-brainer with Lamb gone. I agree, Marshall's biggest asset is being a passer and floor man. He's going to be a project for shooting and defense. The Suns had to go this route, with Nash being so whishy washy on signing. I believe the Suns now are going to use the Nash money to go after couple free agents that hopefully can give us a change of direction. Someone else may have some suggestions.

 

[jagu]

If Nash leaves the Suns really need another pass-first PG to feed the ball to Gortat and spread the ball to the shooters. Marshall can do that. I think he has the NBA smarts right now to start. Or he could ride the bench for two years behind Nash and lose all the confidence and end up getting traded for some scrub.

 

[tobiazz]

I'll take a floor general over an athletic tweener.

If the FO is smart (and they aren't) they will keep drafting a bunch of solid role players and not sign any near all star free agents. That way they will still suck and have a shot at the lottery. Then, when and if they get their Durant, they'll already have moderately priced role players in place and cap space to add a second all star.

 

[jagu]

I'll take a floor general over an athletic tweener.

If the FO is smart (and they aren't) they will keep drafting a bunch of solid role players and not sign any near all star free agents. That way they will still suck and have a shot at the lottery. Then, when and if they get their Durant, they'll already have moderately priced role players in place and cap space to add a second all star.

Never going to happen...

 

[Superbone]

Never going to happen...

Next year with Nash and Hill gone and Marshall and Telfair leading the way? I could see it happening.

 

[NashDishesDimes]

I'll take a floor general over an athletic tweener.

If the FO is smart (and they aren't) they will keep drafting a bunch of solid role players and not sign any near all star free agents. That way they will still suck and have a shot at the lottery. Then, when and if they get their Durant, they'll already have moderately priced role players in place and cap space to add a second all star.

Eggsactly

 

[jagu]

Yep. I'm glad it wasn't an Earl Clark redux. I'll take intelligent point guards any day of the week.

 

[jagu]

Definition of court vision?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VhpivfLmj4

1:58-2:12.

 

[95pro]

Did we really need another draft thread???

 

[tobiazz]

Did we really need another draft thread???

Yes.

 

[tobiazz]

Marshall has a great assist-to-turnover ratio of 3:1 which is much better than Nash had in college (granted Marshall had great players to finish the passes).

Judging from videos, he indeed has great court vision and should rack up assists immediately. However, he's as slow as any PG you can imagine.

For some shooting context. College FT %:

Kidd: 68%
Marshall: 69%
Lamb: 80%
Nash: 86%

 

[Superbone]

Definition of court vision?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VhpivfLmj4

1:58-2:12.

Those long outlet passes remind me a LOT of Nash.

 

[jagu]

Those long outlet passes remind me a LOT of Nash.

He isn't the shooter Nash is but I love how he is in full control of the game out there. That's a unique talent that not a lot of people have. I'm not saying he is going to be amazing but I always love intelligent PG's over athletic guards who may get better. This guy looks like he has a long career in store for him in the NBA.

What I know of this kid:

a) He is NBA ready.
b) Has the smarts to read defenses and play a good half court game
c) Defense is an issue but that's the Suns responsibility to put good defenders behind him.
d) Can run the full court and do things Nash can do with the ball. Not as good yet but I have a lot of confidence in this kid's court vision.

 

[Covert Rain]

I have to think about it but my gut reactions is this.....

A good passing PG, with questionable jump shot skills and probably poor defensive skills at the next level.

Typical Suns type pick....probably will still be looking for a PG for the future.

The only reason Nash is effective in the league is because Not only is he a great passer but he can shoot lights out. Marshal is going to be dared to shoot in the NBA and prove he can beat you that way. Count on it.

My prediction....another forgettable first round for the Suns 5 years from now.

 

[Folster]

I missed most of the draft while at happy hour. I heard about the Marshall pick before I left work, and I kept checking my phone hoping we would snag another pick. The Marshall pick is not exciting, but it's what to be expected at 13 considering who was drafted already. Nobody else on the board was really standing out above Marshall at that point.

I laughed when Waiters was drafted 4th, thinking how stupid we are if we gave him a promise at 13. I heard we gave Anthony Davis a promise at 13 as well.

I'm not disappointed with Marshall, but drafting him makes me question the supposed commitment to building a team that can actually play defense. Blanks was sure to point out that drafting Marshall didn't mean we had conceded Nash was gone. On the contrary, we can't wait to ink him to another multi-year deal so we can draft 13th again next year, and the year after. WTF! I will lose my mind if Nash returns next year.

Say no to Ray Allen and KG. They'll make us get an even worse pick without seriously contending.

It's just maddening.

 

[SunsTzu]

I laughed when Waiters was drafted 4th, thinking how stupid we are if we gave him a promise at 13. I heard we gave Anthony Davis a promise at 13 as well.

Waiters was projected to be a mid late first round pick before the draft process, if he and his team thought he had a shot of going top 5 I seriously doubt they would have cancelled his workouts.

 

[sunsfan88]

Why can't the Suns draft a scoring athletic PG that won't be a defensive liability for once?

PGs who can't shoot, can't defend and is not athletic DO NOT survive in this league...if you don't believe me, look around.

 

[CardsFan88]

Marshall has some liabilities, but he sure can pass the rock. Seems to see the floor about as well as a PG can. Like proverbial jedi reflexes...sees things before they happen.

But in the NBA if you can't shoot, those passing windows get alot narrower. If you can't shoot ft's as a pg, you tend to lose an additional point or two a game. If you can't defend, well for us, we'll continue to have a hole there which also continues to make every other position weaker.

With the ball in his hands if someone gets open, he's going to find him. Passing wise he's exactly what we need.

We've also sucked big time on the fast break compared to years past. He seems to be very good at getting the ball up the court.

Seems to fit our offense at least before setting up, and at least the rest of our team is used to a pg who can't defend so it won't create a new situation.

Given who was on the board, I like the pick. Don't know if a trade down would have been any good without a lottery team (or possible expected one) 1st next year thrown in.

Seeing how that's hard to pull off, and for our FO pretty much impossible as whenever another GM picks up the phone they are probably conditioned to ask for a draft pick from us, staying put and taking a chance was probably the best way to go.

He should be able to run an offense and capitalize on fast break opportunities. Because of this, he very well might surprise and have alot more upside then we currently think.

Hope we make him shoot 500 ft's a day, and start intensively coaching up his defense. It's muted, but there's a hint of excitement in this pick for me. He just looks like a Suns type of pg in the areas that we're accustomed to. If he fits our offense like it appears he could, at #13, IF he achieves that it isn't a bad pick.

FWIW Roy Williams said that if we want to continue playing fast break basketball, we picked the right PG. He also said he was the best (I think...passer) he's ever had. Might have said PG.

Combine that with the tape, and we have multiple confirmations that the highlight reel is what he tends to bring to the table.

One last thing.....if sometimes it appears he plays slow...it might just be more like a deliberate slow (offensively wise I'm talking about ofc)...which was always my concern with Harden going into the NBA. But it works in the NBA with Harden. Not saying he's Harden, just saying being deliberate and making good decisions can outweigh fast and medium control, let alone fast and out of control. Being able to push the break on passes also creates a good dichotomy of confusing defenders as it gets them feeling like they need to be overactive, and then you slow it down to your advantage. If he has these two qualities, it might also bode well for him and us.

 

[mojorizen7]

I missed most of the draft while at happy hour. I heard about the Marshall pick before I left work, and I kept checking my phone hoping we would snag another pick. The Marshall pick is not exciting, but it's what to be expected at 13 considering who was drafted already. Nobody else on the board was really standing out above Marshall at that point.

I laughed when Waiters was drafted 4th, thinking how stupid we are if we gave him a promise at 13. I heard we gave Anthony Davis a promise at 13 as well.

I'm not disappointed with Marshall, but drafting him makes me question the supposed commitment to building a team that can actually play defense. Blanks was sure to point out that drafting Marshall didn't mean we had conceded Nash was gone. On the contrary, we can't wait to ink him to another multi-year deal so we can draft 13th again next year, and the year after. WTF! I will lose my mind if Nash returns next year.

Say no to Ray Allen and KG. They'll make us get an even worse pick without seriously contending.

It's just maddening.

Yes. It is.

 

[Bodha]

We couldve drafted Michael Jordan Jr. and it wouldnt have made a difference in this coming season.

We were picking 13, thats wasteland territory. The odds of picking anyone worth having were slim. Given the circumstances, Marshall was the BPA for us.

It seriously doesnt matter in the least. Top 3 pick next year guaranteed.

 

[slinslin]

Why can't the Suns draft a scoring athletic PG that won't be a defensive liability for once?

PGs who can't shoot, can't defend and is not athletic DO NOT survive in this league...if you don't believe me, look around.

Jason Kidd has done well in the least 5 years as has Andre Miller and Mark Jackson years ago.

Kendall Marshall is a much better shooter than what he gets credit for. Worst case he will be a player as good as Jason Kidd during the Mavs championship run. Good enough to be a starter in the NBA.

PG defense is one of the least impactful things in basketball since even the PGs that are perceived as good defenders barely if at all do better against the top PGs in the league.