http://hardwoodparoxysm.com/2016/06...y-parker-point-guard-2016-nba-draft-popovich/[h=1]Dejounte Murray is a unique breed for the San Antonio Spurs[/h]
by Kaveh Jam<time datetime="2016-06-24 4:23 pm">31 minutes ago</time>Follow @KavehsRoom
<section class="article-content ">It would be fair to say play making is an invaluable skill for the modern NBA guard. Some would even say it’s a prerequisite for a seamlessly operating offense. As a combo guard, Dejounte Murray excels in that area. While the rest of his game is raw — and frankly a little untamed — the penchant to disrupt and muck up a defense places him in a unique position.
The San Antonio Spurs made Murray their selection on Thursday night, using the 29th pick on the slim 6-5 guard from Washington. On the surface, the 19-year-old Murray does not exactly fit the mold of the prototypical Spurs draftee. They have historically valued the calculated and systematic. Murray’s game is naturally fiery and forceful. San Antonio has been notorious for plucking superior and somewhat obscure international talent. Murray is a fresh-faced freshman from Seattle.
In 2011 the Spurs used the same 29th selection on Corey Joseph, a similar combo guard from Texas. But even Joseph had nowhere near the slithering, stop-and-go speed of Murray. San Antonio’s semi-final loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder shed massive light on the Spurs lack of athleticism and perhaps Murray is the first sign of rectifying that.
There are other reasons why this pick is an immense value for San Antonio. The Spurs are entering a period of flux and having Murray on-board could function as insurance for their waning backcourt. He has the size and ball handling to run the point or slide to the off-guard position.
Although thin, his nearly 6-10 wingspan suggests he could grow into becoming an annoying defender. At Washington, Murray used his size to deflect passes and force opposing guards into wacky off-balance shots. Those rebounds would often catapult a fast break, where Murray thrives in putting a defense on its heels.
Most mock drafts slotted Murray going anywhere from 10th to 24th, which makes the risk from San Antonio’s angle much easier to absorb. Even the limitations attributed to Murray’s slide down the big board are largely byproducts of age and inexperience. He is not particularly strong at this point, his jumper is unreliable and his open court play fluctuates between breathtaking moments of wizardry and erratic forays to the rim. But it is easy to imagine those inefficiencies being corralled under Gregg Popovich’s structured development.
Creativity is a difficult characteristic to teach and that is one element Murray appears to possess. He often caps off deceptive crossovers and slinking side steps with high-arcing floaters, perhaps the most Spursy aspect of his arsenal. He connected on more of them than any other draft prospect in the country this season, converting at a 45 percent clip, per DraftExpress and Synergy Sports Technology.
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Murray’s selection reflects both need and value while still feeling somewhat irrespective to San Antonio’s future. The Spurs await the decisions of Manu Ginobili, who declined to pick up the option on the final year of his deal, and Tim Duncan, who could retire. Of their core, only LaMarcus Aldridge, Kawhi Leonard, Tony Parker and Danny Green are on fully guaranteed deals past 2016-17.
Include San Antonio’s cap holds and the Spurs are one of the few teams that likely will have very limited cap flexibility, if any at all. That could change with retirement decisions and other cap gymnastics.
This all makes Murray’s slip to the end of the first round an even more enticing proposition. During a time of uncertainty, the Spurs add high potential at an extremely cost-effective rate. An ideal scenario would probably have Murray growing physically stronger while fostering his play under both Popovich and Parker’s mentorship.
Nailing draft picks is often a meticulous process that whittles down to risk-reward analysis. The prevailing theory almost always appears to be in selecting the best player available. But that in itself heeds little to just how difficult it can be — particularly in an uneven draft.
The constrains that surface past, say, the mid-first round make it challenging to hit home runs with prospects. But the risk of swinging and missing concurrently decrease. The Spurs found themselves in an ideal spot, where all of those factors intersected and connected.
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by Kaveh Jam<time datetime="2016-06-24 4:23 pm">31 minutes ago</time>Follow @KavehsRoom
<section class="article-content ">It would be fair to say play making is an invaluable skill for the modern NBA guard. Some would even say it’s a prerequisite for a seamlessly operating offense. As a combo guard, Dejounte Murray excels in that area. While the rest of his game is raw — and frankly a little untamed — the penchant to disrupt and muck up a defense places him in a unique position.
The San Antonio Spurs made Murray their selection on Thursday night, using the 29th pick on the slim 6-5 guard from Washington. On the surface, the 19-year-old Murray does not exactly fit the mold of the prototypical Spurs draftee. They have historically valued the calculated and systematic. Murray’s game is naturally fiery and forceful. San Antonio has been notorious for plucking superior and somewhat obscure international talent. Murray is a fresh-faced freshman from Seattle.
In 2011 the Spurs used the same 29th selection on Corey Joseph, a similar combo guard from Texas. But even Joseph had nowhere near the slithering, stop-and-go speed of Murray. San Antonio’s semi-final loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder shed massive light on the Spurs lack of athleticism and perhaps Murray is the first sign of rectifying that.
There are other reasons why this pick is an immense value for San Antonio. The Spurs are entering a period of flux and having Murray on-board could function as insurance for their waning backcourt. He has the size and ball handling to run the point or slide to the off-guard position.
Although thin, his nearly 6-10 wingspan suggests he could grow into becoming an annoying defender. At Washington, Murray used his size to deflect passes and force opposing guards into wacky off-balance shots. Those rebounds would often catapult a fast break, where Murray thrives in putting a defense on its heels.
Most mock drafts slotted Murray going anywhere from 10th to 24th, which makes the risk from San Antonio’s angle much easier to absorb. Even the limitations attributed to Murray’s slide down the big board are largely byproducts of age and inexperience. He is not particularly strong at this point, his jumper is unreliable and his open court play fluctuates between breathtaking moments of wizardry and erratic forays to the rim. But it is easy to imagine those inefficiencies being corralled under Gregg Popovich’s structured development.
Creativity is a difficult characteristic to teach and that is one element Murray appears to possess. He often caps off deceptive crossovers and slinking side steps with high-arcing floaters, perhaps the most Spursy aspect of his arsenal. He connected on more of them than any other draft prospect in the country this season, converting at a 45 percent clip, per DraftExpress and Synergy Sports Technology.
<figure>
Murray’s selection reflects both need and value while still feeling somewhat irrespective to San Antonio’s future. The Spurs await the decisions of Manu Ginobili, who declined to pick up the option on the final year of his deal, and Tim Duncan, who could retire. Of their core, only LaMarcus Aldridge, Kawhi Leonard, Tony Parker and Danny Green are on fully guaranteed deals past 2016-17.
Include San Antonio’s cap holds and the Spurs are one of the few teams that likely will have very limited cap flexibility, if any at all. That could change with retirement decisions and other cap gymnastics.
This all makes Murray’s slip to the end of the first round an even more enticing proposition. During a time of uncertainty, the Spurs add high potential at an extremely cost-effective rate. An ideal scenario would probably have Murray growing physically stronger while fostering his play under both Popovich and Parker’s mentorship.
Nailing draft picks is often a meticulous process that whittles down to risk-reward analysis. The prevailing theory almost always appears to be in selecting the best player available. But that in itself heeds little to just how difficult it can be — particularly in an uneven draft.
The constrains that surface past, say, the mid-first round make it challenging to hit home runs with prospects. But the risk of swinging and missing concurrently decrease. The Spurs found themselves in an ideal spot, where all of those factors intersected and connected.
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