Donyell Marshall is a modern-day athlete with an old-school approach to money

August 20, 8:21 PMGolden State Warriors ExaminerMatt Steinmetz

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Donyell Marshall: Knows the value of a buck

Donyell Marshall got waived by Oklahoma City on Wednesday.

I think of Marshall as my guy because I happened to be covering high school sports at the Reading Eagle newspaper, in Reading, Pa., in the late 1980s, when Marshall was a star at Reading High School.

Then when I was working at the Contra Costa Times, Marshall came onto my beat again, this time when I was covering the Golden State Warriors. Truth be told, I’ve not only got a soft-spot for Marshall, I actually like him.

He was one of the first big-money players _ along with Glenn Robinson and Grant Hill _ but he’s always had a regular-guy side to him that is sincere and likable. He also defies one of the stereotypes out there about pro athletes _ that they don’t have an appreciation for money.

That ain’t the case with Donyell. Put it this way … you’ll never read about him squandering his millions. Here’s why:

Back in 1995, I was covering the Warriors and it was Marshall’s second year in the league. We were in Dallas, and I was coming back from a late dinner with a colleague.

As I walked through the hotel entrance around 11 p.m., I noticed Marshall on one of the payphones in the lobby, which struck me as strange. I caught his attention, said hello, then asked him why he was on a phone in the lobby instead of in his room.

Marshall took the phone away from his ear and said: “Man, do you know that every time you make a call from your room they charge you fifty cents?”

I told him I knew that.

“I’m not paying that,” he said, and got back to his call. This was after Marshall had signed a nine-year, $42 million contract.

I remember Marshall on more than one occasion expressing concern over young teammates without long-term contracts spending money like they'd be in the league for 15 years. Before you ask, yes, he's paid for a lot of dinners. He is, aftere all, a gazillionaire.

That money came to define Marshall for most of his career. Too bad. He should have been defined for knowing what to do with it.