Philadelphia 76ers: Kendall Marshall Is A Good Short-Term Option

Kendall Marshall won’t be the Philadelphia 76ers point guard of the future, but signing with them will be mutually beneficial for the short-term

A huge part in building a perennial playoff and title contender is finding a lead guard to run the show. For the Sixers, they have yet to find that guard and won’t move on in their ever so unique rebuilding process until they find that guy.

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Philadelphia has decided that guy will be Kendall Marshall. For now, at least.

Marshall, a 6-4 point guard, has yet to find a place to stick since coming out of North Carolina in 2012. He was picked 13th overall by the Phoenix Suns, and only played there for one season. Right before the 2013 season, Marshall was shipped to Washington and was waived shortly after. He then began a short D-League stint before signing with the Lakers.

LA waived him in the following offseason, and he was then claimed off waivers two days later by the Milwaukee Bucks.

Milwaukee seemed like a place Marshall could stick, as the team was coming off a 15-win season and was in the midst of a rebuilding process. The Bucks, however, did most of their rebuilding over the offseason as the addition of head coach Jason Kidd, along with some veteran leadership, and breakouts of younger core guys eventually put them at .500 and in the playoffs.

Marshall played spotty minutes before tearing his ACL in January, and then landed back in Phoenix via the Brandon Knight trade. Marshall, once again, was waived.

So, now you are caught up.

A fully recovered K-Butter could be really good for this young Sixers core. All he will probably ever be in Philly is a transition into the next great Sixers lead guard but, for now, this was a mutually beneficial pairing. Sam Hinkie and Brett Brown, I’m sure, weren’t too fond of their situation at guard, leading them to Marshall.

And, because of that, Marshall should get the minutes he needs to display his excellent court vision. Marshall’s ability to see the floor and keep the offense moving fluidly is his sharpest tool, and usually being great at even just one thing will give you a chance to survive in the NBA.

Before the Marshall signing, Tony Wroten, Isaiah Canaan and Scottie Wilbekin were set to be the 76ers’ point guards for the year. Wilbekin may not have gotten much time, if any at all, but seeing that it is the Sixers, who encourage losing, they put everyone out on the court that they can no matter who they are.

Wroten and Canaan are more of the scoring guard type, something Hinkie and Brown may be trying to move away from with their strong frontcourt of Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor, who could soon develop into one of the more dominant duos in the NBA. If they want to turn their focus to that – which would make plenty of sense – they should play the guy that can facilitate with ease to best highlight their talent. The best option would be Marshall of the group. Wroten is also a good passer, but his inefficient shooting doesn’t help his case to win the starting job.

Under the tutelage of Brown, who has quietly proven to be a good coach in charge of a bad roster, Marshall could refine the rest of his game well enough to find a long-term job somewhere else.

Kendall Marshall will never be a star in the league, or even a starter. But if things go well in Philly, he could perhaps catch the eye of a playoff team needing a rotation guard. And, for Marshall, that’s all he could really ask for.

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