San Antonio Spurs: Dejounte Murray is the next man up

The San Antonio Spurs experienced a rather odd offseason, to say the least, and with preseason underway there still lingers a daring question. It wasn’t a particularly positive summer and there’s uncertainty in the air. Their leading scorer, DeMar DeRozan, was traded to the Chicago Bulls and Spurs fans are left wondering who will be the next man up?

Not to say the Spurs are left clueless without any mid-range assassins but their whole rotation is now consumed by what their guards can and can’t do. Keldon Johnson will be a breath of fresh air and after his Olympics debut and Gold Medal win, he will be able to transfer some of that experience and knowledge to the court this season.

But the reality of it all is that as they currently stand the Spurs rebuilding years are officially amongst us and in the midst of a complete makeover, some truths cannot be avoided. Coach Popovich is on his way out. I give him 1-2 years before he retires and honestly with good reason.  He is 72 years old and accomplished a lot during his run as San Antonio Spurs coach.

Pop is a 5-time NBA Champion and 3-time NBA Coach of the Year. His time is done. The attraction to join a once-formidable team is now long gone and in turn, comes in the form of a squad looking to get back into the playoffs.

Does San Antonio Spurs point guard Dejounte Murray have what it takes to lead this young roster back to title contention?

It is time for Dejounte Murray to step it up as the Spurs leader starting this season. He is the current longest-tenured Spur drafted back in 2016 and is now facing an uphill battle to bring his team back into contention. His main focus will now be floor general in all aspects.

Last season, DeMar DeRozan and Patty Mills were clear leaders on the court and their vision transferred to the rest of the Spurs guards. Now Murray will solely have that task to bring that leadership into fruition. His defense will be a huge sign in his personal growth as an elite guard defender. The Spurs ranked 17th last season in defensive rating with a 112.0. A majority of that was Dejounte and you can expect that to continue with him leading the way.

Their offensive rating is another story. Coming in at 19th overall with a rating of 110.5, their shooting will need constant work. Dejounte averaged 15.7 points per game last season, a boost from his previous 10.09 average in 2019, with 7.1 rebounds to add to his stat line. He has the capacity to build on that as with an attainable prediction of 18, 7, and 6 assists for the new season. He won’t need to convert to a pure scorer though.

As a point guard and future leader of the Spurs, Dejounte needs to take that floor general title to the next level. He needs to elevate his teammates and create some much-needed chemistry these young Spurs are capable of. He needs to work closely with Keldon Johnson, Derrick White, Devin Vassell, Lonnie Walker, and newly drafted Joshua Primo to find some form of identity for them.  With the season less than two weeks away, the Spurs’ next-man-up has to be Dejounte Murray, and from what we’ve seen from him, we can be well assured he knows he is up for the challenge.