National Basketball Association

Bucks player profile: Kendall Marshall

Published Oct. 1, 2014 3:08 p.m. ET

foxsports

This is the eighth profile in a 16-part series running Wednesdays and Fridays profiling each Milwaukee Bucks player leading up to the start of the NBA season.

Less than two years after the Phoenix Suns made Kendall Marshall a lottery pick, the former University of North Carolina point guard was already at a crossroads in his basketball career.

Lottery picks aren't usually sitting at home after playing just one year in the NBA, but that's where Marshall was last November. But his willingness to head to the NBA's Developmental League paid off with an extended opportunity with the Los Angeles Lakers last season.

Now Marshall's goal is to establish himself with the Milwaukee Bucks.

2013-14 stats: 8.0 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 8.8 APG, 40.6 FG %, 52.8 FT %, 39.9 3PT % over 29.0 MPG in 54 games with the Los Angeles Lakers

2014-15 salary: $915,243

Last year: After spending training camp and the preseason with the Suns, Marshall was traded with center Marcin Gortat and guards Shannon Brown and Malcolm Lee to the Washington Wizards on Oct. 25 in exchange for center Emeka Okafor and a first-round pick.

Really only after Gortat in the deal, the Wizards waived Marshall, Brown and Lee three days after the trade. Marshall was left to sit at home and watch the NBA season begin, a tough pill to swallow for the former lottery pick.

When Thanksgiving came and went, Marshall told his agent that he simply wanted to play and didn't care where. Marshall signed a contract with the D-League and was claimed on Dec. 3 by the Delaware 87ers, the D-League affiliate of the Philadelphia 76ers. Marshall averaged 19.4 points, 4.7 rebounds and 9.6 assists in seven games with Delaware, including scoring 31 points with 10 rebounds and nine assists in his debut.

Marshall's decision to go to the D-League paid off when the Los Angeles Lakers came calling in late December. The Lakers signed Marshall after being ravaged by injuries at the point guard position, losing Steve Nash, Steve Blake and Jordan Farmer in addition to Kobe Bryant's season-ending injury.

It didn't take long for Marshall to take advantage of his opportunity with the Lakers, as he averaged 11.9 points and 11.5 assists in 38.5 minutes per game in January. His playing time decreased to around 27 minutes per game for the rest of the season, but Marshall averaged 8.1 points and 9.5 assists per game in his 45 starts for Los Angeles.

Marshall, who struggled to shoot with Phoenix, hit 46.5 percent of his 3-point shots in 25 games prior to the All-Star break but connected on just 31.6 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc after the break. He credited his improved shooting in general to no longer being afraid to miss.

While Marshall showed flashes of the player the Suns thought they were getting when they drafted him No. 13 overall in 2012, he still battled inconsistency with the Lakers.

This year: In order to free up cap space, the Lakers waived Marshall in July. Multiple outlets in Los Angeles reported that the Lakers had interest in re-signing Marshall, but the Bucks scooped the point guard off waivers.

There's really no downside to the Bucks claiming Marshall, as he has a non-guaranteed contract for 2014-15. Assets are valuable to Milwaukee right now, and Marshall is just 23 years old and only two years removed from being a lottery pick. Marshall is a low-risk, high-reward player.

Of the four players capable of playing point guard on Milwaukee's roster, Marshall is the closest thing to what is considered a true point guard. He's a pass first player who can rack up the assists. Marshall has a chance to seize an opportunity with the Bucks because the backcourt situation is unclear moving forward.

The Bucks have to see what they have in Marshall this season, as a decision will have to be made on the contract status of Brandon Knight this coming summer.

Quoteable:

"I think everything I've been through, it's kind of put me in a mindset to not be afraid to fail. Now I can just go out there and play and not be scared to make mistakes, so that's the main thing I've taken from my journey so far." â Marshall

Follow Andrew Gruman on Twitter