Dejounte Murray may be the Spurs’ next homegrown superstar

The Spurs need another star to keep contending. Enter Dejounte Murray.

When the Spurs snatched Dejounte Murray with the 29th pick of the 2016 draft, it was a sign that they were looking towards the future at the guard position. However Murray — a talented but flawed player who fell all the way down to the Spurs for a reason — was drafted just for that: the future.

That future was moved up a few years after Tony Parker tore his quadriceps during the 2017 playoffs, pushing Murray into a starting role in just his sophomore year. Not only has he improved dramatically in many aspects of the game, but he has given Gregg Popovich enough confidence to permanently place him in the starting line-up over his franchise’s greatest point guard of all time.

Now the question is if Murray can make the same leap Parker did well over a decade ago: from a PG with no shot to an all-time great. While he has the physical tools to be a world-class defender (in some aspects he’s already there), his shot is what needs the most work, and there may be no better place for him to fix it than San Antonio.

The Ringer has an excellent write-up on what it will take for Murray to reach star status and become the next superstar built by the Spurs from the ground-up. Fixing his shot and mechanics are the first step, and vast improvement can already be seen from last year to now, but time isn’t on his side. The Spurs need Murray to reach his potential sooner than most to provide Kawhi Leonard with the star help he needs.

It’s an excellent read, so I encourage you to take the time and read it all the way to its excellent conclusion:

Everyone in the league knew Dejounte Murray had talent, but few thought they could get it out of him. San Antonio is renowned for its player development program, and Murray is one of its biggest challenges yet. If the Spurs start consistently turning elite athletes into good shooters, they may stay on top forever.

Source: Pounding The Rock