NBA News: Latest Buzz Surrounding Kemba Walker, Rajon Rondo and More
The 2014-15 NBA season is finally underway, but not all the news from around the league is about box scores and starting lineups.
No, there is still business to be done in front offices across the Association. It seems there is always a move to make, whether it's wrapping up a player for the long haul or making sure that there is the proper amount of depth in the short term.
Point guard is a premium position in the NBA, and it's important that teams are all set with their floor generals for both the present and the long haul. Let's take a look at the latest buzz surrounding three well-known point guards.
Kemba Walker Reportedly Inks Contract Extension
According to ESPN.com's Marc Stein, point guard Kemba Walker and the Charlotte Hornets have agreed to a contract extension that should keep the veteran point guard in light-blue duds for quite some time:
"The Charlotte Hornets have reached terms on a contract extension with prized guard Kemba Walker, according to league sources.
Sources told ESPN.com that Walker will receive a four-year, $48 million extension from the Hornets that will kick in starting with the 2015-16 season.
The sides were facing a Friday deadline to finalize a deal to prevent Walker from becoming a restricted free agent in July.
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With newly arrived shooting guard Lance Stephenson wrapped up for three years (the final year being a club option, per Spotrac), the Hornets have two darn good-looking pieces of the puzzle locked in for the next few years.
Walker averaged 17.7 points, 6.2 assists and 4.2 rebounds per game in 2013-14. Advanced stats are a little less kind to him and his new $12 million a year salary: He ranked just 17th among point guards in player efficiency rating (PER) last season, per ESPN's Hollinger rankings. He was also 13th at his position in estimated wins added.
ESPN Insider Kevin Pelton felt the signing made sense in the current context:
Walker's chemistry with center Al Jefferson, professor emeritus of the left block, was an integral part of Charlotte's relatively successful 43-39 campaign last season.
The new deal puts the onus on Walker to step up his game and lead the Hornets to the top seed in the Eastern Conference. There are wins to be had in a diluted East, and the Hornets could surpass the likes of the stagnant Brooklyn Nets and injury-riddled Indiana Pacers.
Locking up an exciting point guard who is still just 24 years old is a solid bit of business for a franchise that has mostly been a flop since its establishment in 2004. Walker's youth, durability and consistency could be a key selling point for prospective free agents should the Hornets need to replace an aging Jefferson or round out the rest of their roster.
Rajon Rondo Potentially Available for Celtics' Season Opener
The Boston Celtics will need a healthy Rajon Rondo if they are to have any shot at relevance in the 2014-15 season. The freewheeling point guard played in just 30 games last season, and his availability for the start of the upcoming season has been in doubt ever since he broke his left hand in September.
However, his return may be imminent, according to The Boston Globe's Gary Washburn:
Apparently, the game-day decision isn't set in stone until Rondo has had a chance to sleep on it.
"When I wake up from my nap, I'll let [reporters] know. Around 4:30," Rondo said, via ESPNBoston.com's Chris Forsberg. "If I sleep really, really well tonight, and [Wednesday] afternoon with my nap, I'll let you know how I'm feeling."
Rondo is certainly coming to a crossroads in the 2014-15 season. Due to become an unrestricted free agent after this season, Rondo could be a valuable trade asset for the rebuilding Celtics should he prove that he can stay healthy and still perform at a high level.
Then again, if he proves those two things, the Celtics would be crazy not to make a huge push to re-sign him in 2015.
When Rondo is healthy, he is one of the league's premier distributors, averaging at least 11 assists per game in three of his eight NBA seasons. He's also an accomplished rebounder and an excellent defender in his own right. Should he be unable to start the season, the Celtics will likely rely on a combination of rookie Marcus Smart and Evan Turner.
Milwaukee Bucks Pick up Kendall Marshall's Contract
The Milwaukee Bucks did well in the offseason to snag point guard Kendall Marshall after the Los Angeles Lakers released him due to cap concerns. It appears that they are ready and willing to commit to their pickup for the 2014-15 season, per Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski:
"Despite holding the flexibility to wait until January for a decision, the Milwaukee Bucks have guaranteed the contract of point guard Kendall Marshall for the 2014-15 season, league sources told Yahoo Sports.
Marshall had a non-guaranteed contract, but is assured now to make his full $915,000 for the season.
Marshall made a strong impression in training camp and earned the Bucks’ backup point guard spot. The Bucks acquired Marshall on a waiver claim in July after being released by the Los Angeles Lakers.
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The point guard situation in Milwaukee should be very interesting to observe this season. Head coach Jason Kidd has experimented with 6'11" Giannis Antetokounmpo at the point, an unorthodox move that could pay dividends for a young team looking to escape the Eastern Conference cellar. However, the ploy may have just been a way to give the young man confidence, according to Charles F. Gardner of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
"Kidd experimented with Antetokounmpo at point guard in summer league in Las Vegas and early in the preseason. It was all part of a plan to give the youngster more responsibility.
He's likely to play primarily at small forward but is versatile enough to play both guard positions.
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Antetokounmpo appears to be grateful for the experience.
"It helped my confidence," Antetokounmpo said, per Gardner. "My confidence is really high right now. I feel like I can contribute more on this team than last year."
Should the summer tinkering amount to little more than a psychological ploy, Marshall might be a better option for the young Bucks than the other big-name point guard in the fold, Brandon Knight.
Knight averaged 17.9 points and 4.9 assists per game last season, his first with Milwaukee. He is a shoot-first, pass-when-he-can point guard. As Grantland's Zach Lowe pointed out in July, Knight struggles to read the game adequately:
"Knight on the pick-and-roll is often out of sorts, slow to spot passing lanes, unable to engineer those lanes, and a step behind in understanding how and where the defense is rotating.
Experience and work can refine those skills, but Knight’s struggles have been so profound as to call into question, even at his young age, whether he will ever be a competent starting point guard on a good NBA team.
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Marshall has gaps in his game but proved with the Lakers in 2013-14 he can make plays without marquee talent around him.
The 23-year-old out of North Carolina averaged 8.8 assists per game last season. Even better, he put up a staggering 44.3 assist percentage in 2013-14, which measures the percentage of teammate field goals he assisted while on the floor, per Basketball-Reference.com. Marshall has great vision and likes to do favors for others. He could spot a discarded contact lens in a swimming pool and then dive in to retrieve it.
He also features an unusual but delightful set shot from long range, which resulted in a 39.9 shooting percentage from beyond the arc last season. The drawbacks to his game are a lack of athleticism, poor defense and an inability to attack the basket.
Just 23.2 percent of Marshall's shots came from within three feet of the basket last season, per Basketball-Reference. Knight, on the other hand, put up 30 percent of his shots from that range.
Both players will have to compete with the likes of Jerryd Bayless and Nate Wolters at point guard. Bayless averaged 8.1 points and 2.1 assists per game with the Memphis Grizzlies last season. Wolters put up 3.2 assists in 22.6 minutes per game last season, but shot just 43.7 percent from the field. There is certainly a glut of players at this position. Kidd's first priority this year may be figuring who and what works.
Bucks fans will likely be clamoring for rookie Jabari Parker and Antetokounmpo to get the ball early and often, something that may not happen very often if Knight is the lead point guard. If there is one thing Marshall can guarantee, it's that everyone will spend time with the ball.
