The Chicago Bulls did not land the dynamic shooting guard they so desperately need in Thursday’s NBA Draft. They did land an undervalued 19-year-old point guard.
Kentucky’s Marquis Teague is a young man of great expectations. Just last year he was the top rated high school point guard in the nation and the eighth ranked prospect overall. Entering tonight’s draft, ESPN ranked Teague as the 19th best prospect.
In his freshman year at Kentucky, Teague put up modest numbers of 10.0 PPG and 4.6 APG. The 6’2″, 180 lbs. player shot 41.2% from the field and 32.5% from downtown. His assist-turnover ratio was 1.8/1.
While those numbers do not jump off the page, it is also worth noting that Teague won gold in the FIBA U-17 World Championships and started all 40 games at point for the 2012 NCAA championship Kentucky team. Put simply, Teague is a winner with an unknown pool of potential that Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau can tap.
With Derrick Rose out for at least half of next year and possibly the season’s entirety, the Bulls addressed their backup issue at point. Thibodeau made clear he does not fancy rookies last year with his draconian treatment of Jimmy Butler’s playing time, but (thankfully) John Lucas III is a free agent in an offseason with many teams under the cap.
Bulls fans can expect to get more than their healthy dose of C.J. Watson next year mixed with light doses of Marquis Teague and likely one extra veteran guard brought in to push the teenager. Derek Fisher, perhaps?
Down the line Teauge may well become a solid backup point behind Rose before shipping off to lead a mid-level team. Marquis’ brother is Jeff Teague, the starting point guard for the Atlanta Hawks. After two mediocre years in the association, Jeff blossomed in a postseason run that was eventually put to an end by the Bulls in the Eastern Conference semifinals. This year, his first as a starter, Jeff averaged career highs in points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks. A similar three-year time period for Marquis could be appropriate and it would not be surprising to see Marquis’ career arc match that of his older brother.
Bye Bye Nash
In other draft news, Steve Nash is now officially available. The Phoenix Suns unofficially announced the Nash Sweepstakes with their selection of North Carolina point guard Kendall Marshall at pick 13. Rumors will swirl of Miami’s flirtation with the 38-year-old South African-born Canadian point guard, but financial issues and the lack of a dire need makes the signing less than likely.
In 31.6 MPG in 2011-2012, Nash tied his career high for shooting percentage at .532 and dished out 10.7 APG. Those numbers erased any doubt about the two-time MVP’s ability to play at high level in his waning years.
Nash has stated that he is more concerned with winning a championship than anything else this late in his career, but his options may be somewhat limited. Contending teams such as Miami, Oklahoma City, San Antonio and Chicago do not make sense. The Big Guy’s prediction? Portland. The Blazers have a lot of nice pieces to their roster and with the selections tonight of Illinois center Meyers Leonard and Weber State guard Damian Lillard, the addition of Nash could make the Blazers an exciting team. A core of LaMarcus Aldridge, Jamal Crawford, Gerald Wallace, Wesely Matthews and Steve Nash could quite possibly be a top four team in the West. Ever the West Coast guy, Nash may just feel at home in his remaining seasons.
Steal of the draft
Big East Player of the Year Jae Crowder. Taken 34th overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers and traded to the Dallas Mavericks, Crowder is your standard undersized player with heart, hustle and muscle. The 6’6″ swingman shot 49.8% from the field last year and averaged 17.5 PPG, 8.4 RPG, 2.1 APG and 2.5 SPG. At 235 pounds, Crowder possess the body to bang in the association and, more importantly, clearly exhibits the desire. The Dallas Mavericks may have just landed a stronger, less slick version of Shawn Marion.
The Big Guy
The Sports Guys 