Once the new guy, Dejounte Murray now the Spurs’ old guard – San Antonio Express-News
At some point during the NBA season to come, the Spurs will find themselves in need of a hero.
They will be behind by a point or two, with only seconds left on the clock, a clutch basket standing between victory and defeat.
With DeMar DeRozan now working his midrange magic in Chicago, coach Gregg Popovich has no idea who he will go to in the Spurs’ next make-or-break situation.
Dejounte Murray said he “absolutely” hopes it will be him.
“Time will tell,” Murray said. “You’ve got to keep working and just wait for those moments.”
With the Spurs having thrown themselves full bore into a youth-driven rebuild, Murray’s moment feels closer now than ever.
The 25-year-old point guard moved up the Spurs’ pecking order the day DeRozan was dealt to the Bulls. He stands as the Spurs’ leading returning scorer at 15.7 points per game and assist man at 5.4 per contest.
Both those numbers represent career highs for Murray.
More than that, the departure of Patty Mills to Brooklyn rendered Murray the longest-tenured Spurs player.
The Spurs lost a third veteran voice when Rudy Gay signed a free-agent deal with Utah.
Heading into his sixth season with the club, Murray relishes his role as a primary keeper of the Spurs’ flame.
“It’s important, me being around here and knowing what to expect from Pop, his staff and how we do things,” said Murray, the team’s first-round pick in 2016. “You don’t want to overstep your boundaries, but you want to be an outlet for guys who aren’t afraid to ask questions.”
Indeed, Murray’s leadership, on and off the court, might prove as important to the Spurs’ fortunes as whatever numbers he happens to put up.
Popovich mentioned Murray, fifth-year guard Derrick White and third-year forward Keldon Johnson as players he hopes will step to the forefront.
It is a testament to how far the Spurs have moved from the days of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili.
“They don’t have a lot of years under their belt,” Popovich said of the team’s newest crop of veterans. “But they will lead the way by example in the locker room, on the bus, that sort of stuff.”
Perhaps in part because of a hardscrabble upbringing in Seattle that forced him to grow up quickly, Murray projects a gravitas that belies his years.
He joined the Spurs as a fresh-faced 19-year-old in 2016 and found himself thrust into the playoff pressure cooker after Parker suffered a season-ending knee injury in a second-round Western Conference series against Houston.
Murray eventually seized the point guard baton from Parker full time but experienced a season-ending injury of his own when he blew out an anterior cruciate ligament in the 2018 preseason.
Those peaks and valleys have transformed Murray into a sounding board for teammates going through their own travails.
Backup point guard Tre Jones, a rookie last season, said he leaned on Murray more than any other Spurs player during his inaugural NBA go-round.
“With any question I have — basketball-related or life-related, whatever it is — he’s always open to help and listen and hear you out,” Jones said. “He’s always in my corner, rooting for me.”
In a turn of events that bodes well for Murray’s ability to lead this youthful crop of Spurs, he has never been afraid to have frank conversations with players older and more decorated than him.
The way Murray tells it, leading All-Stars and rookies alike has been part of his job description for the past several seasons.
“You go back to LaMarcus (Aldridge),” Murray said. “That was somebody I talked to, to make sure he’s staying focused and being himself. Same with DeMar. The leadership is always there, no matter who is on the roster. That’s just my mentality.”
Like Murray, Bryn Forbes joined the Spurs at the start of the 2016-17 campaign.
Forbes returned after one championship-winning season in Milwaukee to find an older, wiser Murray than the one he remembered.
“He is one of the older guys now,” Forbes said. “It’s going to be huge for me and Dejounte and Derrick and the older guys who have played for a while to give some wisdom on how things go.”
For his part, Murray is at something of a loss to describe his place in the Spurs’ new order.
He is a veteran and one of the players most well-versed in the Spurs Way, but he does not quite consider himself an old guy.
“Man, I’m still earning my stripes,” said Murray, who turned 25 two weeks before camp opened this week. “I’m still learning. When I was a rookie, I was asking questions and answering questions. It’s the same mentality.”
This season more than ever, Murray is poised to do at least as much teaching as learning.
The Spurs clearly believe in him. In October 2019, the club signed Murray to a four-year, $64 million deal that will keep him under team control through the 2023-24 campaign.
The old guard has moved on from the Spurs, fully and irrevocably. Murray is ready for his close-up.
He has been waiting for his moment.
“My mentality is always the same,” Murray said. “Just be a leader by example, how I work and how I carry myself. And that’s that.”
jmcdonald@express-news.net
Twitter: @JMcDonald_SAEN