The Next Generation: Dejounte Murray

Every season the draft brings a fresh infusion of talent to the NBA. In theory this is an even, steady process. In practice, hindsight and historical perspective show that there are borders and boundaries — talent doesn’t just arrive in the NBA, it arrives in generational waves. Sometimes we can’t see these aesthetic dividing lines for decades, sometimes you simply can’t miss them.

The present day NBA appears to be on the cusp of welcoming a remarkable new generation to its forefront — players who are not just incredible but incredibly unique. Players who will not just excel but transform the roles and responsibilities of basketball players as we understand them. Over the course of this week, The Step Back will be examining many of the players who could figure prominently in The Next Generation. Not every player we turn our attention to is destined to be a star, but all could play a role in defining the future of the NBA. Read the whole series here.

The Next Generation: Dejounte Murray

Heading into the 2016 NBA Draft, one prospect that continued to catch the eye was Washington guard Dejounte Murray — a lanky prospect that played on the wing for the Huskies but looked much more comfortable whenever he had the ball in his hands. At 6-foor-5, with a wingspan bordering on 6-foot-10, he had an advantage over most kids in college and would have one over many NBA point guards.

Draft night came and league executives thought highly enough of him that he earned an invite to the Green Room. Murray and the assembled family and friends there with him watched and waited as pick after pick went by and Murray’s name was not one of the names called by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver.

Finally, the moment came. “With the 29th pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, the San Antonio Spurs select: Dejounte Murray, from the University of Washington,” said Silver from the podium of the Barclays Center.

This is not the first time the Spurs have selected at the back end of the first round and it’s also not the time they took a flier on a player that wasn’t a complete product yet. Murray is the next in line to join the “How in the world did the Spurs get him?” list.

On that list are two players, and current teammates, that he could learn a lot from not only about being a Spur, but on how to become a star. Manu Ginobili (rookie in 2002-03) and Tony Parker (rookie in 2001-02) were brought to San Antonio a year after each other. Together they became part of a superstar trio (along with Tim Duncan) that would win four championships.

One of the reasons that Gregg Popovich’s teams have been able to sustain their success over the last 20 years is the coach’s ability to adapt his style of play to the roster he has. The Duncan and David Robinson teams played a certain way, the early Duncan, Parker, Ginobili teams played one way and it changed over time as Duncan aged, and now with Kawhi at the lead, they play a different style.

Kawhi Leonard is now the core and quiet face of the franchise with Duncan retiring. San Antonio hopes that with Murray they found a player that could give them the best of Parker and Ginobili in one — while not driving Popovich crazy as the Frenchman and the Argentine had a knack for in their younger days. With Murray, it won’t be a case of Popovich and his staff trying to pigeonhole into a predetermined role. Instead, they will find a way to help Murray’s talents shine through.

A few of those talents are very reminiscent of something Parker does an exemplary job of — finishing around the basket. Parker has made a living in the NBA of being able to finish around, over and through big men. He knows how to adjust his body and the ball in order to get an angle good enough that helps him make shots. Murray might not need to contort as much as Parker since he is a bigger player, but his ability to make difficult shots at the hoop has been an added bonus this season.

Sticking with his ability as a finisher, Murray showed during his one year at Washington that he had an advanced ability to make floaters. Parker’s floater came as a way to score over bigger defenders when he was still trying to develop a consistent jump shot. Murray is working on becoming a better shooter too, but his size means that he can get the floater off just about every time he drives the lane. In a league that is ignoring the midrange more and more, having a player that can get you easy points in that area is a plus. The Spurs are known to zig when everyone else zags Murray’s floater is definitely on that path.

With Ginobili, his ability to go back and forth from scorer and facilitator offered the Spurs versatility to implore different type of lineups around him. As a passer, Ginobili had a combination of awareness and confidence that often led to either an amazing highlight or a devastating turnover. Results aside, Manu was always going to throw some questionable passes if he deemed them worth the risk. Murray has been given an opportunity to play through mistakes when Pop opts to rest Parker and though there has been a fair share of them when he does gets it right you can see glimpses of Ginobili’s vision.

Another big part of Ginobili’s success was his ability to play off of others. With teams worried about Duncan on the post or Parker getting into the paint, Ginobili would often find himself open to hit catch-and-shoot jumpers. Whereas his preferred spot up location was the wing, Murray has taken most of his 3-pointers from the corners (a Spurs staple). Murray isn’t going to scare teams from downtown, but he has shown the ability to get hot and knock a few down from behind the arc. If Murray can continue to develop his range to be a consistent outside threat he could be on the receiving end of a kick out passes from Leonard and LaMarcus Aldridge.

Murray hasn’t been thrown into the fire in the same way Parker and Ginobili did when they first joined San Antonio. With the rise of the NBA Development League and the Spurs getting their own team in Austin, Murray has been able to get time sharpening his skills that he probably wouldn’t have gotten otherwise.

When he has gotten the chance to play starter’s minutes he has looked like the best player drafted in last year’s class. In his eight games as a starter, he has averaged 9.5 points, 3.1 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game. That would rank fifth in points, 10th in rebounds and third in assists among all non-Embiid rookies. The Spurs have once again unearthed a diamond in the rough that is a late first-round draft slot.

Take a look at the shooting numbers, per 36 and advanced stats numbers from the rookie years of Murray, Ginobili and Parker. If you haven’t been able to see Murray play this season or aren’t fully convinced by the videos you’ve seen above, that should be one last reminder of what the San Antonio Spurs could help him become..