Kendall Marshall

Timberwolves Eye Kendall Marshall

Chatter is connecting the Timberwolves to former 13th overall pick Kendall Marshall, reports Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twitter link). It’s unclear whether the team or Marshall’s camp initiated the talk, but Minnesota is nonetheless keeping an eye on the Alex Saratsis client, Wolfson adds.

Marshall tore his right ACL in January while playing for the Bucks, who had taken the unusual step of guaranteeing his non-guaranteed salary before the season, more than two months before they had to. Milwaukee sent him to the Suns via trade after the injury, and Phoenix released him, with his contract set to expire before he would be healthy enough to return to the court. It was a hard-luck year for Marshall, who blossomed in a 54-game stint with the Lakers in 2013/14, when he averaged 8.8 assists per game. The Lakers waived him last summer to make room for their amnesty claim of Carlos Boozer, allowing the Bucks to scoop him up.

Wolves coach/executive Flip Saunders recently signaled a willingness to sign a veteran backup point guard. Marshall would bring the combination of three years of experience and youth, as the 2012 lottery pick turns only 24 next month. Minnesota can use the $2.139MM biannual exception or the nearly $1.514MM left on its mid-level exception to offer Marshall more than the minimum, if necessary.

Do you think Marshall will fulfill his potential, or was his season with the Lakers an outlier? Leave a comment to let us know.

Central Notes: James, Perkins, Marshall

LeBron James believes the Cavaliers, who were silent as the trade passed, can win a championship with their current roster, Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal writes. James’ stance presents a different view than the one he had previously offered in his summer essay announcing his return to Cleveland and when speaking to reporters during the holidays, Lloyd notes. The Cavs, who entered the All-Star break having won 14 of their last 16 games, have remade their roster since James last made those statements, having acquired J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert and Timofey Mozgov. “Obviously health is a huge thing. Clicking at the right time,” James said. “The team that’s clicking at the right time, is healthy at the right time, can make a huge push. I believe we can make a push to win one. Does it guarantee that? Of course not, we still gotta go out and play. But this roster can challenge any team out there.”

Here’s more from the Central Division:

  • The Bulls, who did not make a deal at the trade deadline and have a vacant roster spot, will monitor the buyout market between now and March 1st, which is the deadline for free agent signees to be eligible for the playoffs, K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune notes. The Bulls appear to be interested in center Kendrick Perkins, who was dealt on Thursday from the Thunder to the Jazz, Johnson writes. Utah is  reportedly considering a buyout arrangement with the veteran big man. Johnson also added that Chicago would be interested in guard Gary Neal, if his contract were to be bought out by the Timberwolves.
  • Any roster addition made for the stretch run for the Bulls will be a veteran insurance player who is comfortable sitting on the bench, Jon Greenberg of ESPNChicago.com notes.
  • The Bucks were reluctant to part with Kendall Marshall, who was traded to the Suns along with Brandon Knight on Thursday, but Milwaukee wanted to free up a roster spot, Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel tweets.

Suns Acquire Brandon Knight

9:16pm: The trade is official, the Suns have announced. In addition to Knight, Phoenix receives Marshall, who will be waived, from the Bucks. Milwaukee gets Ennis and Plumlee from the Suns, and Carter-Williams from Philadelphia, and the Sixers garner the Lakers’ top-5 protected 2015 first-round pick from Phoenix. By the looks of it, the component involving the Celtics will go as a separate transaction.

4:31pm: Phoenix will waive Marshall, according to Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. Coro sums up Phoenix’s side of the deal. It’s Knight, Thornton, Marshall and the Cavs’ top-10 protected 2016 first-round pick, which Cleveland had owed to the Jazz (Twitter links). The Suns are sending Ennis and Plumlee to the Bucks, Thomas to the Celtics, and the Lakers’ top-five protected 2015 first-round pick to the Sixers, Coro tweets.

4:10pm: Kendall Marshall, who’s out for the season, is headed to the Suns in the deal, reports Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link). It’s undecided whether the Suns will keep him or waive him, Charania adds.

2:30pm: The Celtics will send Marcus Thornton to the Suns and the Cavaliers’ first round pick in 2016 to the Suns, according to Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com (on Twitter).

2:25pm: The breakdown, according to Stein (on Twitter) is as follows: Knight will go to the Suns.  Michael Carter-Williams, Tyler Ennis, and Miles Plumlee will go to the Bucks.  The Celtics will acquire Isaiah Thomas.  Meanwhile, the 76ers will acquire draft picks.

The Sixers will get the Suns’ protected first round pick via the Lakers, according to Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today (on Twitter).

2:15pm: Thomas is headed to the Celtics, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com, in what essentially functions as a four-way deal with the Bucks, Suns and Sixers (Twitter link).

2:00pm: The Bucks are trading Brandon Knight to the Suns, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). There are conflicting reports regarding other details Michael Carter-Williams and Tyler Ennis are going to the Bucks, and Isaiah Thomas and picks go to the Sixers (Twitter link), according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com, while Wojnarowski has Thomas heading from Phoenix to the Celtics (Twitter link). Miles Plumlee is also headed to Milwaukee, according to Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The Sixers are getting the Lakers’ protected first-round pick that they owed to the Suns, tweets Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today.

Kendall Marshall Will Miss Rest Of Season

The Bucks’ Kendall Marshall will miss the remainder of the season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament, the team announced Saturday in a press release. The backup point guard injured the ACL in his right knee during Thursday’s game in London.

The injury was confirmed through an MRI conducted Saturday by team orthopaedic physician Dr. Michael Gordon. Marshall will undergo surgery on the knee, but the date has not been determined.

Milwaukee’s options for replacing Marshall are limited. January 15th was the deadline for applying for a disabled player exception, but because the Bucks are below the salary cap, they wouldn’t have been eligible for the DPE anyway.

The timing of the injury is unfortunate for Marshall, who will be entering free agency this summer after his minimum-salary contract expires at the end of the season. He was averaging 4.2 points and 3.1 assists in 28 games this season. He was shooting a career best .455 from the field and a career-best .889 from the free-throw line.

 

Central Notes: Bucks, Knight, Pistons, Pacers

The Bucks made waves at the trade deadline in 2013 when they shipped Tobias Harris out in the swap that brought in J.J. Redick on an expiring contract, but that sort of move is “not who we are today,” GM John Hammond tells Grantland’s Zach Lowe. The team’s new owners have instead focused on building around the club’s youth, particularly Jabari Parker and Giannis Antetokounmpo, though co-owner Marc Lasry insists to Lowe that the team doesn’t just want to see young players get minutes and that the goal is to make the playoffs this year. Still, it would appear that the days of sending recent first-round picks away in trades for short-term help are over in Milwaukee. Lowe has more on the Bucks in his piece, as we’ll highlight amid the latest from the Central Division:

  • Lasry is confident that the Bucks will secure financing for a new arena and said to Lowe that he and fellow co-owner Wesley Edens won’t think about moving the team to a West Coast city.
  • The Bucks are high on Ersan Ilyasova, John Henson, and Kendall Marshall, and coach Jason Kidd is especially enamored with Ilyasova, Lowe writes. The Grantland scribe nonetheless believes that Ilyasova and Henson still seem like intruguing trade candidates.
  • The Bucks would like to retain Brandon Knight at a “reasonable” price, according to Lowe, who pegs that range at $10-12MM a year. Still, the Bucks aren’t completely sold on the idea of Knight as a point guard, as Lowe explains.
  • Stan Van Gundy has faith that his team can play better, but he acknowledges that it’ll be tough for the Pistons to meet their loftiest of goals this season, and he pointed to a four-day break in the schedule later this month as a point of reckoning, MLive’s David Mayo observes. Van Gundy may use the off days only to make rotation changes, but it wouldn’t be surprising for him to pull off a deal, as Mayo explores.
  • The Pacers treaded water while many of their players were out early this season, but they’re still missing Paul George and George Hill, and their absences combined with the departure of Lance Stephenson continue to haunt the team, writes Mark Montieth of Pacers.com. Offseason signee C.J. Miles, who’s begun to rediscover his outside shot, is a bright spot, Montieth notes.

Bucks Notes: Knight, Marshall, Extensions

Brandon Knight is disappointed that he and the Bucks were not able to come to terms on an extension by the deadline, Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times notes (Twitter link). Knight said, “It’s unfortunate. I wanted to get something done.” By failing to come to terms on an extension Knight will become a restricted free agent next summer.

Here’s more from the land of beer and bratwurst:

  • Knight relayed that he doesn’t feel any extra pressure to perform well this season despite not inking an extension with the Bucks, Charles F. Gardner of The Journal Sentinel writes. “It’s no pressure. You either get it [a contract] now or get it later, one or the other,” Knight said.
  • There is no animosity between the two sides, notes Gardner, and the team has said they intend to try and reach an agreement with Knight this summer. When asked if there was any tension between he and the team, Knight said, “No. If we’re going to revisit it [the negotiations], it’s definitely not. I haven’t really spoken a whole lot to my agents about it. They said they were talking. I love the Bucks. It’s a great organization and we’re continuing to improve as you see. It’s definitely something I would like to be a part of. When we revisit it in the future, hopefully it will work at that time.”
  • When the Bucks decided to fully guarantee Kendall Marshall‘s $915K salary for this season it demonstrated their commitment to the young point guard, Gardner writes in a separate article. “It’s a sense of comfort to see that the organization has that trust in me,” Marshall said of his contract being guaranteed. “I haven’t really seen too much of that since I’ve been in the league. It’s just the beginning. I see it as a great foundation for me and for where I want to be with this team. The main thing is team success. My college coaches always told me, ‘Winners get the awards and the rewards.’ If we take care of things as a team, everybody will look good.”

Bucks Guarantee Contract Of Kendall Marshall

The Bucks had until January to make the call, but the Bucks have decided to guarantee the contract of guard Kendall Marshall, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports.  Marshall’s contract was a non-guaranteed pact, but he’s now guaranteed to earn $915K for the season.

Marshall has impressed in training camp and figures to be the first point guard off of the bench this year.  New head coach Jason Kidd knows a thing or two about the point guard position and the organization is clearly high on the 23-year-old.

The Bucks claimed Marshall over the summer shortly after he was waived by the Lakers in a cap clearing move.  The UNC product never hit his stride with the Suns, but he revived his career last season when he averaged 8.0 PPG, 2.9 RPG, and 8.8 APG while playing 29 minutes per game for the Lakers.

Bucks Claim Kendall Marshall

SUNDAY, 6:17pm: Marshall to the Bucks is now official, according to Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel (on Twitter).

SATURDAY, 6:03pm: The Bucks intend to put in a waiver claim for Kendall Marshall, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twittter link). Milwaukee is looking to add passers and backcourt upgrades, tweets Stein, and Marshall will join newly acquired Jerryd Bayless in filling those needs.

Marshall was waived by the Lakers on Friday as the team attempted to clear cap space. Los Angeles had hoped to re-sign the 22 year-old point guard out of North Carolina, but it appears that Milwaukee will put a damper on those plans if they do in fact place a waiver claim on Marshall during the two-day waiver period.

After being considered a bust by the Suns, Marshall revived his career last season when he averaged 8.0 PPG, 2.9 RPG, and 8.8 APG while playing 29 minutes per game. His slash line was .396/.372/.540.

Western Rumors: Marshall, Bledsoe, Love

Eric Pincus of The Los Angeles Times tweets that he doesn’t expect Kendall Marshall, whom the Lakers released yesterday, to clear waivers. Here’s more from the Pacific Division:

  • The Lakers were pleasantly surprised to have won their amnesty claim on Carlos Boozer, tweets Bill Oram of The Orange County Register.
  • Dan Bickley of USA Today thinks that Eric Bledsoe should relent on his demands for a five-year, $80MM contract with the Suns, and risks earning a poor public image if he doesn’t.
  • The Warriors commitment to defense is manifesting itself in the team’s unwillingness to give up Klay Thompson in a Kevin Love trade, writes Sam Amick of USA Today. Amick notes that new coach Steve Kerr has prioritized the defensive end in choosing his assistants, and that Love’s inability to reach the players is a black eye among some league executives.
  • New Hornets addition Lance Stephenson tells Candace Buckner of The Indianapolis Star that he’s surprised he didn’t remain with the Pacers“I’m definitely surprised,” said Stephenson. “But I’m happy here. I can definitely help this program. It’s a family here. I’m definitely going to miss Larry Bird. But it’s a business, and I feel like here is more of a family. Let’s go get wins.”

Lakers Waive Kendall Marshall

2:30pm: The move is official, the team announced.

12:51pm: The Lakers have decided to waive the non-guaranteed contract of Kendall Marshall, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). The team nonetheless has interest in re-signing him should he clear waivers, Wojnarowski adds. The move appears tied to the team’s deal with Xavier Henry, as dropping Marshall allows the Lakers to open $915,243 more in cap room after they used much of their available space on their winning amnesty bid for Carlos Boozer.

The move appears to signal that the team is prepared to make Jeremy Lin the starting point guard. Marshall would have provided stiff competition for Lin, having come off a strong performance for the Lakers, who signed him in December. The 22-year-old averaged 8.0 points and an impressive 8.8 assists in 29.0 minutes per game across 54 appearances, helping revive a career that had gone south seemingly ever since the Suns made him the 13th overall pick in the 2012 draft.

The addition of Boozer at $3.251MM against the cap for next season meant the Lakers didn’t have enough cap space to fulfill their agreement with Nick Young on a four-year, $21.5MM deal, as Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times noted late Thursday (Twitter link). That means the team would either have to renounce its rights to Ryan Kelly, whom the Lakers are interested in re-signing, or waive Marshall. I wouldn’t be surprised if another team picked his minimum-salary contract off waivers, given his cheap cost, youth, and production last season.