Kris Murray’s Abilities Fit What OKC is Looking For in Draft
For the second draft in a row, a Murray brother from Iowa could hear his name called early in the draft
Last season Keagan Murray was selected to Sacramento, and just finished his phenomenal rookie season where he quickly stepped into a vital role for the Kings. This season his younger brother, Kris, is now looking to hear his name called early in the night on Draft day.
Kris was the leader of this year’s Hawkeyes team after his brother went to the NBA, with his chance to lead the ship he made waves and stood out as one of the better players in the country. Murray had a career year as the leader of the Hawkeyes scoring 20.2 points per game, well above his previous season’s average, and grabbed nearly eight rebounds per game, nearly double his sophomore season.
Murray’s basketball IQ raises his ceiling and draft stock for team’s, his draft projections have varied over the course of the process, but it is likely for him to come off the board near the end of the lottery or just after the lottery. Murray would fit into the Oklahoma City organization, he’s a smart player with great length who can play both the three and the four.
His overall shooting is good, especially with his ability to get into the paint and score at the rim. Though his 3-point shooting could improve, he did show in his sophomore season effectiveness when he shot the three ball less. As the Thunder seeks more help on the wing and depth with forwards, Murray would help fill in holes and be able to play multiple roles as the team continues to build toward a playoff run.
OKC has continued to be one of the better rebounding teams, despite the lack of true big men and the addition of Murray would keep that trend. Murray uses his fame and long arms to crash the boards, the same goes for his ability to finish at the rim with the ball.
All-in-all while Murray isn’t the flashiest player on the draft board he does the small things well and has a tremendous basketball IQ that would benefit Oklahoma City’s young roster as the team continues to build toward competing for championships again.
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