Why Marcus Garrett's two-way should be celebrated
In the context of pro basketball’s offseason transaction cycle, a two-way rookie deal is never going to be a headline, unless things are really slow.
But in the context of a niche, team-specific newsletter….
IT’S THE BIGGEST NEWS OF THE SUMMER.
First of all, I love how Woj worded that. Garrett “honored his college rep”… Marcus Garrett is a man of honor!
Let’s back up. Marcus Garrett… did it?! He proved that a player could overcome his shortcomings on offense with suffocating defense and effort, and this story is a victory across the board for player and program.
It’s hard to know exactly what Garrett’s two-way venture will entail, outside of a lot of time in Sioux Falls. We all know Garrett is cut out for it, and in a moment where team fit matters almost more than a rookie’s individual resume, the pairing of Marcus Garrett and Heat Culture almost feels too on-the-nose. It makes me think that Garrett will make appearances with Miami sooner than later, even if those opportunities are purely diagnostic—the Heat will probably want to see how much of that summer league defensive mastery translates to the highest level right now, and just how far behind he is on offense. Once they see what Garrett is—and he inevitably gets shipped back to the minors—that’s when the real grind-a-thon begins.
I won’t name names here, because there are honestly too many of them to name, but if you’re an NBA journalist who focuses on draft news, you’ve gotten an interview request from me to talk about Marcus Garrett’s pro prospects. It’s a topic that I love. I don’t take it personally that almost no one wrote me back, because it turns out that this is a math problem that was best solved on my own.
It is my inclination to take something like “Marcus Garrett’s defensive ability” and project it onto deeper meaning. But there’s also smaller observations to be made, like this one: Marcus Garrett’s arrival in pro basketball is proof that one of Bill Self’s main ingredients holds water at the next level. And that’s just cool, I think. My observation is “cool!”
I’m excited for Marcus Garrett, and it’s going to take a lot of restraint to not pre-order the custom Heat jersey with whatever random number he gets. (I love all spring training-core numbers.) In a NBA news cycle that mostly concerns itself with the big names, it’s fun to follow some smaller ones.
Make sure to watch that video, because it is hilarious.