Kendall Marshall vs Damian Lillard

I think Marshall has more potential. I would not be the least bit surprised to see him have a Mark Jackson-like career, and Jackson is a borderline hall of famer. How many other prospects can you give that kind of praise to? Lillard could be an effective scorer but I think he’ll find it’ll be a lot harder to get his shots at the next level and while his PG skills are actually getting underrated, there’s no way I would want him running my team over Marshall.

But…

If I’m the Raptors I don’t really see the point in taking Marshall. You already have a very good pass-first PG who every year essentially averages 8+ dimes with a 4:1 A/TO ratio and is a mediocre scorer at best, yet they can’t find remote success. This is one team that I could see taking Lillard over Marshall; he would inject them with the firepower they need. Rivers could do the same but he isn’t a PG, just has the frame and handle of a PG. He is a scorer’s scorer, a volume shooter, not meant to run an NBA team.

If they remain in the 8 slot and Barnes is available I think he is obviously the pick, giving them the outside shooting and stability at SF they need. PJones would be good value but with Derozan and Bargnani he might be too soft. I’m not sold on Lamb or Ross as being great enough to push Derozan and avoid filling a need. I have been a Marshall over Lillard fan all along but I think Lillard might be the most likely and logical pick here. Lillard, Derozan, Bargnani and Valanciunas would be an exciting young team. And if James Johnson doesn’t pan out at the 3, they could deal Calderon’s juicy $10.6M expiring and either Amir Johnson or Ed Davis for a nice wing. Good thread…

 Marshall is a very good passer but a bad defender and a bad shooter with the point guard crop in the league right now i just dont think he can defend good enough or shoot it good enough i think if a team takes marshall in the loterry there making a huge mistake he would be a better fit as a mid first round pick or late first round pick because he would be on a team with more talent and pieces around him and that would hide his deficiencys as a player. I think lillard will be the better prospect  hes not an a elite athlete but hes a good one he can guard his position and he can score the ball i feel like his skillset translates better to the nba 

If I were the Raptors I would not take a point guard. The Raptors need to analyze their team and figure out why they are continually in the lottery even though they have an 8 assist a game PG with a great assist to turnover ratio. Besides they already have an up and coming PG in Bayless. He really is a Calderon injury away from having a breakout year. And he is very similar to Lillard. Why would the Raptors need two players that are very similar? Almost too similar.

There are a couple reasons why the Raptors are still struggling. 1. Bad defense. 2 Not enough rebounding, and 3 not a good shooting guard next to Calderon. That 3rd one is key. Passing PG’s love to have great shooters to pass to. They form great bonds with them. Derozan is not a great shooter, so I’m sure Calderon would love to have a great shooter. As much as the Raptors need a SF, yet already have a SG, I would still take a SG, because of the fact that Calderon would love to have a great shooter to pass to. Derozan can play both the 2 and the 3. So if Barnes is not available, which will likely be the case, I’d take Beal or Lamb and slide Derozan to the 3.

Lillard over Marshall, because he can both shoot and pass. He is an underrated passer. Not as good as Marshall true, but there will be times when passing is not an option because no one is open so that case you need someone that can either drive and slash to the hoop or someone that can shoot as well as pass. I would trust Lillard to do that, but I wouldn’t trust Marshall to do that. True he can score if necessary, but he is first and foremost a passer. There are sometimes that I think that Marshall is too passive, which is also why I rate Lillard over Marshall.

Marshall may have the better career, but right now Lillard is the better player to me because he can shoot and pass. He (Lillard) may have a career similar to Stephen Curry. Marshall will probably have a career similar to Andre Miller. I think anybody would rate Curry ahead of Miller.

Rivers is too much a SG. He is similar to Curry, because he can pass as well as shoot, but he’s clearly a better shooter than he is a passer. I think he is more similar to OJ Mayo or Monte Ellis. He needs to go to a team that will put the ball in his hands,  a team that desperately needs a leader, a team that has a ton of players who are best without the ball in their hands that way they have someone who can get them the ball and he can still score when his team absolutely needs it. A team like the Suns would be perfect for him, because Nash is very soon to be leaving. The Suns are too dependant on Nash that once he leaves, they will fall apart, which is why they need a leader that Rivers can be to get them through those falling apart times.

 Dont be shocked if Marquis Teague is taken first, after he displays his athleticism after the workouts.