Kendall has been working out for a few teams, including Phoenix this week, but the word on the street is that he could go to Dallas at #17. After all, they’ve already got Jason Kidd, so why not pick up another player who’s projected to become just like him?
But doubts remain about Kendall’s quickness and athleticism, even if his end-of-the-season and tournament performance quieted the doubters about his shooting ability. Here’s one exec’s take:
“His shooting has gotten to the point where you’re not going to be running plays to get him jump shots, but he’s become enough of a shooter,” one general manager said. “He’s not a great athlete where teams are going to be fearing him going by them. He needs a ball screen. If he was a knock-down shooter, he could be a lottery pick because he’s a pure point guard.”
And another…
“You put scorers around him and people that are going to move without the ball, he’s going to deliver it to guys and get you some easy buckets,” a GM said. “Finding pure point guards anymore seems to be a challenge. Most years you’re getting guys that are combo guards. … They kind of played some one, played some two in college, and now they’re trying to convert to a straight one. Here’s a kid who is a straight one who you are not going to have to convert. He already thinks like a point, plays like a point, passes like a point. There’s less of a transition period for a guy like that.”