Murray one of six

[Chinook]

As I said above, I'd love for Murray to be a superstar. He is somewhat ahead of my curve in that I had projected him as a starter after his second year and he got there in the middle of last year. However, Murray is overrated in a similar way that George Hill was. You have to anoint someone the face/future face of the franchise. For SA, that status was erroneously assign to Hill and correctly assigned to Leonard. Which one Murray trends toward is still up in the air. What I will say is that it would be so awesome if DeJounte's skill backs up his at ude next year. He has the air of a young superstar. He says all the right things, engages with his teammates and doesn't seem to resent his fans.

None of my criticism of Murray comes from any personal hate I have for him or a desire to watch him fail. Too many folks on here are stuck on thinking that everyone has to fawn all over a guy or else they aren't "in his church". I think offensively Murray is unselfish but reckless. He's willing to pass the ball and seems to enjoy getting guys easy buckets. But he makes so many bad decisions with the ball. He has the size to get almost any look he wants off, but he resorts to floaters way too much. He's creative off the dribble, but his handles suck. Him learning to shoot is going to be a huge part of him being successful, but the Spurs' ceiling is tied heavily to Murray's ability to penetrate the defense and finish. The team can make the playoffs with LMA and DMDR carrying everything beyond the first round relies on Murray being a third-option player.

Defensively, his off-ball instincts are strong. He doesn't play passing lanes like Kawhi, but he did so better than say Green. He also has a strong ability to recover. And of course, he can clear boards as well as any guard in the league. However, he doesn't actually know how to play position defense. This is really obvious watching him, but too many "Murrayites" just cite impact that's and cover their ears. He gets beat off the dribble rather easily because his stance needs work. Any player adept at drawing contact can get Murray into trouble because DeJounte doesn't have great control of his body. He might be a god in terms of on-offs, but if there's a good offensive perimeter player on the other team, I have zero faith than Murray's going to do anything to contain that player. In the same way Kyle Anderson was an elite defender, Murray is one. But by Lock-n-Lock/Wing Stop standards? Not on the same level at all. All-D selection or no, Murray has to take a huge step forward for the Spurs defensively.

[KDKSpurs24]

Chinook Murray’s ball handling does not suck. That is a big misconception that I think a lot of people need to review. He has a lot of moves. He looked bad handling the ball in his first year and i believe that in the fans minds it stuck with him. But with more experience have you not noticed that he doesn’t get ripped or bothered much anymore? That came with playing time and confidence. Now that he has the starting job locked up he doesn’t have any worries and can play his game more. And now that he has played a lot of minutes and has a lot of film I’m sure he will work to shore up a lot of his young mistakes. Just watch.

[acoelho1]

Despite his flaws, Murray is a special talent and I project him better than George Hill. He’s definitely not overrated by people on this forum. He had some big games last year that showcased his unique skillset. He will be star in my opinion. The question is how long will it take to develop a consistent jumper. I expect a significant jump this year offensively.

[dbestpro]

Murray should get more respect than Walker or White who has barely seen an NBA floor but too many around here think d-league stars and rookies are better. Face palm.

[wildbill2u]

I still think he has terrible ball handling skills when it comes to his dribble. He carries it much too high (sometimes up to his shoulders) and is subject to ball handling errors in a crowd and steals from good defenders. If I were Pop, I'd make him dribble a ball everywhere it goes.

[koriwhat]

for some reason i just see white coming out of the gate hard and surprising many in bball(not just us fans and patfo either). as well, i think we see murray make a leap too.

i think these two are our realistic future 1 & 2.

[TD 21]

Murray is the most important short term development, but Walker is the most important long term development because he more closely resembles the rough outline of a go-to offensive player.

I attribute the hype surrounding Murray mostly to the Spurs doing something they rarely do, which is hyping up one of their players and them having had a hand in two all-time player development cases. If he were elsewhere, it's doubtful he'd be viewed any more fondly than comparable types like Dunn and Exum.

Gotta anoint someone. Closer to Hill than Kawhi so far. But if he lives up to the hype,

the Spurs are dark horse contenders

If your team doesn't start with a superstar, you're immediately disqualified from even theoretically becoming a championship contender. That's not to be confused with having one automatically equalling contention though.

Who remembers a year ago when fans said he was 3-4 years away?

When you see talent, sometimes you just know.

I missed the part when he arrived offensively.

Unfortunately, his talent lies in the least important areas for his position/role.

Without a foundational offensive skill to build off of, the roadmap to his supposedly becoming a star or borderline one, as Lowe termed it, is unclear.

[sasaint]

for some reason i just see white coming out of the gate hard and surprising many in bball(not just us fans and patfo either). as well, i think we see murray make a leap too.

i think these two are our realistic future 1 & 2.

Meh. Pop has hitched his wagon to Dijon. I doubt White gets much of a chance to come out of the gate hard. He will be splitting time with a bunch of other bodies.

[coachmac87]

His intangibles are off the charts..he’s got great size and length and does damage without having an offensive game...

If he adds that to his game he’s the total package which at 22 projects him to be a star. He’s got the drive or ambition to be great so it’s all gonna depend if he can truly understand the game.

[coachmac87]

Corner 3’s and a midrange pull up when they go under screens will do wonders for him...

[ceperez]

I honestly think that Walker IV has a ton more potential than Murray.

Just look how bulky Walker is at 19. He also has a lot more spring.

[SAGirl]

I don't think he's hyped too much.

I would say that he's been sooo bad on offense at so many things that even modest improvements in any area can result in jumps in his production. He passed up a lot of shots off the dribble, he would pass up shots spotting up. But he also passed up on drives also, don't know if it was his ball-handling or his poor finishing. He was a two-footed jumper most of the time. Allegedly what really helped Donovan Mitc succeed unexpectedly was his adjusting to jumping off one foot.

If he improves any of those things he'll score more, and combined with what should be more minutes he'll have decent scoring numbers.

His last 20 games of the regular season he averaged 26.5 minutes a game and 10 points on 9 shots.

Any improvement should see him at 30+ minutes a game and then 14-15 points a game on 11-12 shots seems reasonable. That would put him right around 15th among all point guards.

Agreed. It seems reasonable to expect some improvements. Probably those who were expect near all star levels will be disappointed but as you said improvements in some areas even if he still has a ways to go to reach his ambitious perceived ceiling will still go a long way to make him a difference maker. I have hopes for him that are just tempered by trying to stay within reason.

I will be disappointed if he doesn’t improve in any one area offensively though, but just can’t imagine he won’t at this point. We shall see...

[Mr. Body]

I really think that DJ is a little overhyped. I've not been as impressed with him as the national media is.

If he wasn't in LeBron's orbit, he wouldn't have made the All Defense team and wouldn't be getting the attention he is now.

[cd021]

I honestly think that Walker IV has a ton more potential than Murray.

Just look how bulky Walker is at 19. He also has a lot more spring.

Walker is definitely ahead of the curve when compared to recent Spurs 1st rounders. He's athletic, has slashing skills as well as some playmaking abilities and can shoot on ball and spotting up already.

Its a matter of polishing those skills while also developing him into being a defensive player.

[cd021]

Corner 3’s and a midrange pull up when they go under screens will do wonders for him...

Doing those two things plus attacking in transition when he gets opportunities and being able to attack the basket more consistently in the half court is a blueprint for him to become an average to above average offensive player

[alpha_HaZE]

I am happy for him! He is already ALL-NBA defender and even though there are many areas he can improve offensively, he will be an asset --the same way Danny Green was-- if he can make his open three point shoots, and if you look his rookie year he actually made those open thees. To me without Kawhi, our entire team struggled from behind the three point line last year. I know DJ can make those open shots. Now if he can finish while taking the contact same way Tony did he would be something special. Like Tony was.

[objective]

Just a little more about the numbers

His last 20 games (all starts), covering the months of March and April, Dejounte Murray averaged:

26.5 minutes
10.0 points (on 9 shots)
45% from the field
28.5% from 3 on 0.7 attempts per game
6.6 rebounds
2.8 assists
2.0 steals

I think 30-32 minutes per game in 18-19 is likely given both expected improvement but more importantly Pop not having to gift minutes to both Mills and Parker.

So even modest improvements should get him with those extra minutes to

14-15 points
5-7+ rebounds
4-5 assists
2+ steals

The players listed at guard who averaged at least 10, 5, 3 & 2 were ...

Victor Oladipo, who averaged 23.1 pts, 5.2 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 2.4 steals

And that's it.

If you include all positions the only other player qualified is Paul George (21.9, 5.7reb, 3.3, and 2.0).

So if all he does is average 10, 6, 3, and 2 then he'll be in a class by himself. And he should average a bit more, easily.

[objective]

furthermore,

among all active players

the only players who averaged 10 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals are

Lebron in 04-05
Westbrook in 14-15 and 15-16
Draymond in 16-17

that's pretty good company for Dejounte

last 20 years you can include Kidd (x5), Caron Butler (x2), Larry Hughes, Metta World Peace, Gerald Wallace and Kobe

[duncan2k5]

"if you try something and mess up here, you know you are going to the bench." exactly what I've been saying... U could see how tentative DJ was on offense last year... Pop needs to loosen up... I've kept saying Steph curry would never have been Steph curry if Pop coached him... The first time he launched a 40 foot three in transition would have been his last

[acoelho1]

Some of you are just blind when it comes to Murray. I remember the same kind of talk when Kawhi was developing. Murray is special and s om will come.

[KDKSpurs24]

Some of you are just blind when it comes to Murray. I remember the same kind of talk when Kawhi was developing. Murray is special and s om will come.

I agree. Some day soon in this season or the next he’s gonna have a moment where he just blossoms. Just wait and see.

[RGMCSE]

I really think that DJ is a little overhyped. I've not been as impressed with him as the national media is.

Every single young player on the Spurs is over hyped. They’re all very bland boring mediocre players. Neither Dwhite, walker or Murray have any legitimate star player potential. Just some potential backups or sixth man types. This team is going to suck being middle of the pack at best. From essentially 20 years of Chanpionship contenders to being the Portland trailblazers.

[Spur|n|Austin]

Thought this was going to be about his shooting percentages

[dbestpro]

Murray spent much of the summer reworking his shot with Chip Engelland, the Spurs' famed shot doctor, and the team is surprisingly optimistic about the early returns. "It looks like a completely different game for him," says Ettore Messina, a Spurs assistant.