Former North Carolina point guard Kendall Marshall needed some minutes to improve. He wasn’t getting that on the Phoenix Suns’ bench.

So last week the Suns sent him to the team’s development-league affiliate in Bakersfield, Cal. While that sort of assignment isn’t commonplace for a lottery pick, it makes sense: Marshall wasn’t playing behind Goran Dragic and Sebastian Telfair, and there’s only so much improvement available through practice and working out with development coach Lindsey Hunter.

Marshall needs steady minutes running an NBA-style offense and game conditions to work on his outside shot. That’s what sending young draft picks to the D-League is all about. The Suns aren’t down on Marshall. In fact, coach Alvin Gentry sounded a little guilty when he was in Charlotte recently, discussing how hard Marshall is trying to improve his weak spots.

via Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer