Boston Celtics: Pros and Cons of trading for Dejounte Murray
By Chris Conte
The Boston Celtics have a lot of work ahead of them this summer after going out to the Brooklyn Nets in the first round of the 2021 postseason.
There has already been some buzz in Beantown despite the playoffs still going on. The C’s management hired Brad Stevens to replace Danny Ainge as President of Basketball Operations and, soon after that, hired Ime Udoka to replace Stevens as the team’s next Head Coach.
The Celtics have brought back Al Horford in exchange for Kemba Walker and draft capital while also adding new assistant coaches to Udoka’s staff.
It looks like Boston is headed for a whole summer full of retooling.
That’s how it should be after going .500 (36-36) despite having two All-Stars; the roster needs to be refitted to compliment the Jays.
Given that both of the team’s foundation pieces are wings and Kemba Walker was traded, the Boston Celtics may be in the market for a new point guard.
Reportedly, Dejounte Murray has become available, and the Celtics have some interest in the young guard. Murray has many untapped potential skills, and he and Udoka will have shared experience since both started with the San Antonio Spurs.
This article will detail whether or not Murray is worth pursuing by breaking down his value into two separate categories — Pros and Cons.
Pros of the Boston Celtics trading for Dejounte Murray
Dejounte Murray is coming off a career season with the San Antonio Spurs, averaging 15.1 points, 5.4 assists, and 1.5 steals per game on 50.9 TS%.
He has improved every year of his career and is beginning to show signs of a reliable jump shot, hitting 47.7% of his long twos but still shooting just 32% from behind the arc.
Every season he has extended his range, and next year will likely be when he truly breaks out behind the 3-point line. This untapped offensive potential could bode well for the Boston Celtics since Tatum and Brown would only quicken the pace of his development.
Dejounte Murray’s offense is an offensive project the Cs would have to put a lot of time, money, and effort into, but they would be acquiring him for his defense.
Murray is arguably the best guard defender in the league, and he has the tools to be an all-time great guard defender if he continues along the path he’s on.
His wingspan, IQ, grit, and natural tendencies make him a menace on that end. Boston would be forming one of the best perimeter defenses in the league by adding Dejounte Murray, which would help them a lot come playoff time.
The Boston Celtics currently lack in the ball-handling department, with Kemba Walker and Gordon Hayward no longer in green.
Murray could fulfill this role with ease and even become the primary ball-handler for the team. DeRozan and Murray made up for most of San Antonio’s assists, and Murray did an excellent job finding guys to the rim, totaling 128 assists in that area.
With Boston’s big core, Dejounte would thrive in pick-and-roll and would have more spacing to operate as a scorer and more time to make decisions as a facilitator.
Boston could bring out the best in Murray, and it would only cost them about $15 million a season over the next three years.