Marcus “Poor Man’s Charles Barkley” Derrickson: potential Kevin Durant replacement? Durant hasn’t officially left yet, that would be pretty bad form as there is still a lot of playoffs remaining, but it’s never too soon for the Warriors to think about potential replacements. Damn, I can’t wait for him to have his own team again and also simultaneously Stephen Curry to have his own team (with Derrickson in a featured role) again. If this doesn’t happen and he sticks around, I’ll grit my teeth and deal with 7 more frustrating finals games before the Bucks win the championship again.
But back to Derrickson. Jim Barnett thinks he’s a poor man’s Charles Barkley, which seems like a rather bold proclamation considering his grand total of 46 NBA points. A more appropriate comp would be “homeless man’s Charles Barkley”, but even then, that’s Barkley we’re talking about. One of the legends of the NBA. You can’t just compare a marginal NBA talent like Derrickson with him. Not unless you’re me. But I’m allowed to because I’m just some random dude on the internet that no one really takes seriously, not an actual NBA commentator in an official role with a team.
That said, there’s a chance that he can replace some of Durant’s production next year. It doesn’t even have to be much of the production, maybe only a few points, as long as he doesn’t bring the other stuff that Durant brings: drama, sulkiness, lack of defensive effort, et cetera. He’s shooting 50 percent on threes in not the world’s smallest sample size (10 of 20 is pretty good), and he’s scoring at a good rate in the extremely limited minutes he’s played. And, you know, I bet his G-League stats are great. Not that those mean anything.