Duke Blue Devils alum and commissioned Army officerMarshall Plumleewill beginning his NBA career with the New York Knicks.
Lost track of all the Duke Blue Devils free agents yet? I have, because there was a big one that slipped under my radar a few days ago. The number of Plumlees in the NBA grew to three. So now we haveMiles Plumleewith the Milwaukee Bucks,Mason Plumleewith the Portland Trail Blazers, and now Marshall Plumlee is in the NBA too.
It was a little weird when the youngest Plumlee was at the Charlotte Hornets predraft workout. I thought he had an Army commitment. It wasn’t weird for Plumlee. Plumlee joined the Army last year, yes, but only the Army Reserve. That means his commitment right now is a limited one and he needs a job for some spending money. Looks like that is basketball.
So there should not have been any real shock when Plumlee signed athree year deal with the New York Knicks. After all, Plumlee always had agreed with the Army that his active duty would be delayed. So no conflicts there.
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So what does Plumlee going to the Knicks mean? It means there will be some good public relations fodder for both the team and the Army. Get ready to hear ‘patriotic’ repeated many many times in Knicks telecasts.
It also is a basketball fit. Plumlee made his reputation as a big man who will do whatever he’s asked. For the Knicks that will likely be rebounding and rim protection. He will be a sub behindJoakim Noahand probably another guy. He can also come out on screens to help out Knicks shooters likeCarmelo Anthony,Courtney Lee, or evenKristaps Porzingis.
So the story of Duke rookies in the league does not start and end with whateverBrandon Ingramdoes in the country’s second biggest city. Now the story will also be about what happens to Plumlee in the country’s biggest city.
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