Dejounte Murray let it be known after the Spurs’ season-ending 100-96 loss to Memphis that he plans to spend plenty of time this offseason assisting his younger teammates.
“I am going to be around San Antonio,” he said. “I will make sure I am around them, helping, working out, building that brotherhood off the floor, doing fun things. It’s going to be really important, because we want to build good habits, winning habits.”
Murray finished Wednesday’s play-in game with 10 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists for his fifth triple-double of the season, the most by a Spur since David Robinson had five in 1993-94. But it was far from a satisfying performance for the 24-year-old point guard after he missed 13 of 17 shots from the field and scored five points below his season average.
“At the end of the day, it’s going to be hard (to win) when myself and DeMar shoot the way we shot,” Murray said, referring to DeMar DeRozan, who scored 20 points but missed 16 of 21 shots from the field. “That’s just the facts.”
But rather than dwell on the loss, Murray focused on his offseason plan for improvement.
“My thing is to come back a better player every single year, show that I grew in every aspect of my game,” said Murray, whose per-game averages for points, rebounds and assists have improved each year. “Whatever I do really well, what I don’t do really well, I am going to attack it every single day.”
He’s optimistic his younger and less-experienced teammates will join him. That list includes Lonnie Walker IV, Keldon Johnson, Luka Samanic, Devin Vassell, Tre Jones, Drew Eubanks, Quinndary Weatherspoon and DeQuan Jeffries.
“They just want to work and learn,” Murray said. “They don’t think they know everything. It’s pretty dope.”
Vassell indicated he’s all in with Murray’s offseason plan.
“The sky is the limit,” he said of the future of the team’s young core. “We have talent, we have grit, we have hustle, we have all the makings of a winning culture. We are going to bond together, stick together this summer, push each other to get better each day. We are going to come back with a vengeance next year.”
Vets took youngsters
under their wings
One of the feel-good storylines from this season was the relationship between the Spurs’ veterans and younger players.
One of the tightest bonds formed in that regard was the friendship between the 20-year-old Vassell, a rookie first-round pick, and 34-year-old Rudy Gay, a 15th-year pro.
“DeMar definitely helped me and Patty (Mills) definitely helped me, but I kind of went under Rudy’s wing,” Vassell said. “I went through a stretch where I felt I couldn’t hit a 3 at all, and he’s telling me, ‘Look, I don’t care if you missed 10 of them, keep shooting.’ To hear that from somebody like him, it’s huge.”
Gay wasn’t available for interviews after Thursday’s game, but DeRozan said one of the best things about this season was seeing the progress of Vassell and other youngsters.
“You see the growth in them,” DeRozan said. “You see the confidence. You see them learning tendencies out there on the court. When I lend a helping hand, and see those guys be receptive to whatever I tell them, and it works, it feels good. I’m not just a teammate of these guys, I’m a fan of them. I love to see them grow. I want the best for them.”
Return to normalcy
eagerly awaited
Murray said he hopes arenas across the league will be full next season.
Because of the pandemic, the Spurs limited capacity to 3,200 at the AT&T Center during the season’s final two months after the building reopened to fans.
“The fans are really, really important,” Murray said. “I can’t wait to play in front of San Antonio’s fans, and even on the road. I am a guy that likes challenges and fights, when your back is against the wall. It will be fun. And guys like Devin and Tre, the rookies, will be able to experience the whole NBA thing.”
torsborn@express-news.net
Twitter: @tom_orsborn
