In the utmost “Spursian” fashion, the San Antonio Spurs may have found their point guard of the future in Dejounte Murray.
In my best David Stern voice: “And with the 57th overall pick in 1999 NBA Draft, the San Antonio Spurs select Emmanuel Ginobili.”
Then, a mere two years later: “And with the 28th overall pick in the 2001 NBA Draft, the San Antonio Spurs select Tony Parker.”
Now, fast forward seven seasons and three titles subsequent: “And with the 26th overall pick in the 2008 in NBA Draft, the San Antonio Spurs select George Hill.”
You see the trend?
In a time and age when our collective loyalties lie with “trusting the process,” the Spurs have longed bucked the trend with their proven and traceable knack for short-cutting the rebuilding system.
The late-round steals listed above don’t even include the likes of Beno Udrih, Ian Mahinmi, Tiago Splitter, and Cory Joseph, or the draft picks they ended up trading away in Luis Scola, Leandro Barbosa and Goran Dragic.
Simply put, San Antonio has made identifying overlooked prospects an art form.
Sure, there were some misses.
DeJuan Blair looked promising before his lack of ACLs and persistent eating wore out his time in league. Everyone lauded coach Gregg Popovich and general manager R.C. Buford for yet another steal when they drafted Kyle Anderson just a couple of years back, but so far, the returns have not been so fruitful.
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But, by in large, part of the Spurs’ unparalleled sustainability for greatness over the past two decades are a direct result of their shrewd drafting. Two of their three franchise pillars during said timeframe, Manu and TP, were obtained through such means.
As for George Hill, San Antonio was able to leverage the fine start to his now rather dependable NBA career into Kawhi Leonard — who, most would say, has carved out a nice niche for himself in the association.
As we approached the 2016-17 NBA season, however, the Spurs were getting ready to enter an uncharted era for their franchise. For the first time in 19 years, a certain No. 21 was missing from their active roster. On the other hand, Tony is clearly on the tail-end of his prime, while Manu is on his very last leg.
To stay competitive, the Spurs have been preparing diligently for this day; most notably, pairing LaMarcus Aldridge last offseason with Kawhi to serve as San Anotonio’s new-age one-two punch.
Not surprisingly, thus far this year, the Spurs have been the Spurs. Despite Leonard (supposedly) falling off on D, and housing two of the worst and most maligned interior defenders in the association in David Lee and Pau Gasol (get well soon), San Antonio still bolsters the third stingiest defense in the league, per NBA.com.
To replenish the youthfulness around their new big two, Buford has unearthed several diamonds in the rough in Jonathon Simmons and Davis Bertans, all the while empowering the likes of Patty Mills and Danny Green into more prominent roles.
The Spurs may have also quietly — in the most utmost Spursian fashion — found their heir apparent at the point guard position with the 29th overall selection in this past year’s draft.
Standing at a gangly 6’5″ and weighing in at an extremely slender 170 pounds, Dejounte Murray has made the most out of his sparse opportunities this season by wowing Spurs nation with his unique concoction of length, motor and explosiveness.
As the unofficial understudy of Jamal Crawford, all the way down to the residual leg kick on the release of his J, “Baby Boy” has the type of handle and wiggle that makes him an offensive threat every time he touches the rock. But it is not so much his on-ball game that has impressed, it’s the little things the 20-year-old does off the ball that inspires such praise from both the fanbase and coaching staff alike.
Although being situated in the Spurs system certainly helps, Murray is already an exceptional cutter and unrelenting slasher — characteristics you wouldn’t exactly expect from a willowy ball-dominant guard. He has also been scorching in his limited attempts from beyond the arc, shooting 57 percent on 14 tries (including 75 percent from the corners) this season.
Obviously, the shooting numbers aren’t sustainable, but in a spot-up setting, his shooting is probably not as bad as his D-League three-point percentage of 10.8 percent would indicate.
As a slasher, he already possesses an advanced floater game, and is absolutely fearless when it comes to finishing around the rim.
Defensively, his potential is otherworldly. Sporting a 6’11” wingspan, unparalleled for his position, Murray has a chance to be as a point guard what Kawhi is on the wings.
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Of course, at present, he’s not there yet, as he is very much still an undisciplined off-ball defender — gambling incessantly, shorting his closeouts, forgetting his help responsibilities, etc. — but his ability to stay in front of smaller guards, combined with his length, is already a bothersome pairing when defending on the ball.
While most Spurs fan won’t expect him to score 24 points every game from here on out, in fact, he’s most likely going to have to pay his dues collecting splinters on the bench as San Antonio enters the stretch run of the regular season. But looking down the line, Dejounte could emerge as Kawhi’s right hand man five years down the road.
Looking more into the near future, Murray has a chance to inherit Manu’s role as San Antonio’s sparkplug combo guard as soon as next season, and in the event the Spurs fail to retain Simmons and/or Mills, Pop will sleep well knowing he has a dynamic gem serving as a contingency plan.
The emergence and presence of Dejounte Murray should also give general manager R.C. Buford more options when it comes to free agency this summer. No longer handcuffed by either Mills or Simmons, the Spurs now have the option of keeping one of the aforementioned at a reasonable price, as they add more athleticism to their rather lumbering frontcourt.
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The faces have changed, but the story remains the same. Find yourself a quiet and unassuming superstar, pair him with a versatile veteran big man, and surround them with late-round gems. Only for Dejounte Murray, he might just mess around and even supersede the loftiest of precedents that were set before him.