Dejounte Murray

The Spurs decided to take their franchise in another direction heading into the 2021-22 season, trading DeMar DeRozan to the Bulls. They were left with a stripped-down roster that clearly had an eye on the future. Murray became the team leader, logging 35 minutes per game and recording a 27.3 percent usage rate. With the ball in his hands so much, he was a fantasy force with averages of 21.1 points, 8.3 rebounds, 9.2 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.4 three-pointers per game. While many teams would love to build around a young player like Murray, the Spurs decided to descend further into the basement of the Western Conference by shipping Murray to the Hawks for, essentially, a bevy of draft picks. Murray now finds himself not only on a team with championship aspirations, but playing alongside a usage rate monster in Trae Young. It's fair to expect Murray to see a significant decline in his usage rate, as well as a drop in assists without the ball in his hands as often. If fantasy managers draft him with the expectation that he can match the numbers that he produced with the Spurs, they will likely be disappointed.

Murray is coming off the best statistical season of his career after posting career highs in points (15.6), rebounds (7.1) and assists (5.5) per game. That should be a reasonable floor for the former Washington standout heading into 2021-22. With DeMar DeRozan out of the picture, Murray should embrace an even bigger role on offense, and it wouldn't be shocking to see him post a career-best mark in points for the second straight campaign. Murray contributes across the board on a regular basis and is one of the best two-way guards in the league. Durability is somewhat of a concern -- he missed all of 2018-19 with a torn ACL -- but Murray has played at least 66 games in each of the last two shortened seasons, so that may not be an issue going forward. While he might not be able to become a 20-point scorer just yet, Murray's blend of scoring, passing and elite rebounds and steals production puts him on the short list of fantasy breakout candidates this season.

Although his scoring came and went, Murray carved himself out a valuable role both for the Spurs and for fantasy purposes in 2019-20. With averages of 10.9 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.7 steals, Murray offered a little of almost everything, and he improved on his shooting both from the field (46.2 percent, up from 44.3) and from the line (79.8 percent, well up from 70.9). He showed remarkable rebounding prowess for a point guard, picking up double-digit boards six times en route to six double-doubles (one of which came courtesy of 10 assists). With Bryn Forbes gone and Patty Mills possibly seeing fewer minutes, Murray's game is on the rise and he shouldn't be overlooked from a fantasy standpoint. If his court time and usage rate continue rising, Murray could very well offer up close to 15 points per game with upward of six boards and assists apiece, plus plenty of steals -- but even if we just get last year's version of him again, he'll be plenty valuable.

Big things were expected from Murray last season after the Spurs moved on from Tony Parker at point guard. Murray had shown some promise in a starting role, averaging 10.1 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.6 steals over 48 games during the 2017-18 season. Unfortunately for him and the Spurs, their hopes of him putting together a productive full season as a starter went up in smoke when he suffered a torn ACL during the preseason. If there is a silver lining, it's that the injury happened so early that he should be completely healthy this season. The Spurs haven't made any moves to bring in more competition at the position, leaving him as the projected starter over Derrick White and Patty Mills. Don't count on him to provide volume in terms of three-pointers, but his ability to be an above-average contributor on the boards and defensively for a point guard should once again make him an intriguing fantasy option. It would also be nice to see him improve on his career 70.8% shooting from the charity stripe, which can be a drag on a fantasy squad coming from a guard spot.

After playing just 38 games as a rookie, Murray became a significant member of the Spurs' rotation in 2017-18, seeing the floor in 81-of-82 regular season games and averaging 21.5 minutes. Murray found himself in a timeshare with Patty Mills for much of the season, and Tony Parker also cut into his workload when he was healthy. However, Murray eventually locked up the starting point guard role and is clearly the team's top guy at the position for the foreseeable future. After earning the full-time starting job on Jan. 21 against the Pacers, Murray wound up remaining in that role for the final 34 games of the regular season, posting averages of 10.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.8 steals across 26.5 minutes during that span. That production gives Fantasy owners some optimism heading into the upcoming campaign. The Spurs let Parker walk in free agency and also traded Kawhi Leonard away in exchange for DeMar DeRozan. Parker's departure should add on a few minutes to Murray's per-game average, though DeRozan will likely take away some ball-handling opportunities from Murray. Still, the second-year guard's ability to rack up rebounds and steals make him a valuable Fantasy in deeper leagues. Murray does need to improve as a scorer in order to become a much more reliable target. The 21-year-old shot just 44.3 percent from the field, 26.5 percent from deep and 70.9 percent from the free-throw line, so there are a few categories where his lack of efficiency could hurt those in rotisserie leagues. Either way, with Murray locked into a full-time starting role for an entire season, look for his numbers across the board to take another jump.

Murray was given low expectations as a long-term project after being selected with the 29th overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, but he ended up making more of an impact than originally expected and split time with Patty Mills as the backup point guard to Tony Parker. While a lingering groin injury forced him to miss double-digit contests, Murray ended up playing in 38 games, including eight starts, and ended the 2016-17 campaign with averages of 3.4 points, 1.1 rebounds and 1.3 assists across 8.5 minutes. While those stats don't necessarily scream upside, it was Murray's late season production that sparked so much excitement. Against the eventual NBA champion Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference Finals, Murray was a solid contributor with averages of 8.3 points, 3.0 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 3.0 steals across 21.8 minutes. Looking ahead to the 2017-18 campaign, Murray has a huge opportunity ahead of him. Tony Parker is slated to miss at least the first three months of the season with a ruptured quadriceps, which leaves a big hole at point guard. Patty Mills, who re-upped on a four-year, $50 million contract, is the favorite to take over starting duties, but Murray could also be in the running with a strong training camp. If he does end up securing a starter's role, Murray could be a breakout candidate in just his second NBA season.

The Spurs stopped Murray's unexpected fall from a potential lottery pick to out of the first round, claiming the point guard from Washington with the 29th overall selection in the 2016 NBA Draft. On a team as deep as the Spurs, Murray is going to be a pet project for coach Gregg Popovich and GM R.C. Buford, but after a couple years of tutelage, he may be ready to take the reins of the offense from the aging Tony Parker. While Murray wasn't a household name during his lone season in college, he arguably has as much long-term upside as anybody in the draft outside of Ben Simmons and Brandon Ingram. His size (6-foot-5), length (6-foot-10 wingspan) and speed are elite physical tools that separate him from others at point guard. Point guards who average six rebounds and 1.8 steals per game in their first year of college are a rare breed, and it speaks to Murray's ability to do things that can't be taught. He has a long way to go, however, in areas of his game that can be improved through hard work. Murray shot just 28.8 percent on 3.5 attempts per game from three-point range, and he averaged just 4.5 assists in 33.5 minutes per game, despite demonstrating excellent vision at times and being a willing passer. He also averaged 3.2 turnovers per game, as his handle was occasionally loose. Those flaws won't be corrected overnight and arguably make him more likely than not to wash out of the league in short order, but the encouraging track record of the Spurs organization in terms of player development gives Murray a better chance at success than if he were to have landed almost anywhere else.