The buzz around Kendall Marshall to the Dallas Mavericks has reached a fever pitch in NBA draft circles, with Chad Ford, ESPN's NBA Draft Insider, becoming the latest pundit to report on Dallas' interest in the UNC PG.
In his chat on Wednesday, Ford gave a projected range for Marshall with a floor at No. 17:
Very possible. Hornets at 10, Blazers at 11, Suns at 13 all possibilities. Don't think he slips past the Mavs at 17.
Marshall is considered the second-best PG in the draft, although I think his lack of athleticism or scoring ability puts him behind both Damian Lillard (Weber State) and Scott Machado (Iona).
In terms of where he could land before Dallas, both New Orleans and Portland have two lottery picks, and they might be willing to take a player like Marshall higher than his talent would indicate in order to help them develop their other rookie, especially if it's a raw big man like Anthony Davis or Andre Drummond who could use Marshall spoon-feeding him layups.
For more on the Mavericks draft plans, stay tuned to the SB Nation Dallas storystream as well as Mavs Moneyball.