June 29, 2018

Marcus Paige
PG - 6’0, 164lbs - 24 years old - 1 year of experience

Paige won a spot on the Hornets via his summer league performances with other teams. He managed only a meaningless 28 NBA minutes this season, and instead spent the season with the Greensboro Swarm, his second consecutive G-League campaign. His first was straight-up poor, especially considering the fact he was drafted in 2016. This past one improved on that to ‘average’.

For a man whose style of play is somewhere between Stephen Curry and Jannero Pargo, there are concerns from an NBA point of view. The level of play is obviously much more Pargo than it is Curry; far too small for a shooting guard, and pretty darn small for a point guard as well, Paige gives up size and a lot of strength against any match-up. He is incredibly slight of build, and while quickness helps compensate for it, it is not by enough. Paige is busy defensively and makes good hands, with a knack for poking the ball away while fighting over screens, but this will always be a big advantage of his.

Compounding this problem is the fact that Paige is not really a halfcourt point guard, and nor is he the calibre of shooter one would require to overcome the above. Paige is a pretty good shooter, yet he is streaky (a streakiness not helped by the size deficiency), and with obvious limitations in and around the paint, this makes for an inefficient overall scoring package. As a playmaker, Paige makes good decisions out of the pick-and-roll and is fairly careful with the ball, but naturally looks to score and is not an especially incisive passer. He also isn’t young for a ‘prospect’ any more, either.

All told, Paige was a good college player and will be a good professional player for a while. But this might be the one tier he never gets to.

Player Plan: Expiring two-way contract. Bring to summer league with encouragement to earn a spot, but it would be a surprise if he did.

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