Spurs: Two areas of improvement for Dejounte Murray

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Dejounte Murray - Charlotte Hornets v San Antonio Spurs / Ronald Cortes/Getty Images

Dejounte needs to put on more muscle for success with the Spurs

Since being drafted in 2016 at only 170 pounds, Dejounte Murray has slowly gained about 10 pounds, now reportedly weighing in at 180 pounds. Looking around at other NBA point guards though, regardless of height, Dejounte is likely one of the smallest guards in the league by weight.

In the modern NBA, more and more players are entering the league that has the size and stature of wings or forwards with the skills of guards, with guys like Ben Simmons, Lamelo Ball, and even Luka Doncic coming to mind. Dejounte's combination of a lack of both strength and outside shooting ability does not bode too well for him.

While Dejounte has become a much craftier finisher compared to when he entered the league, his lack of strength is surely going to hold him back some when trying to score at or around the rim. At the same time, because he's still a below-average outside shooter, he can only do so much damage from the three-point line as well. Eventually, at least one of those will have to give in order for him to take the next step on offense.

Dejounte's size could also become problematic in the long run on the defensive side of the floor even despite the fact that he was tied for fifth place in steals per game this past season. Ultimately, his switchability will definitely be limited if he isn't able to put on a few more pounds.

All things considered though, as I alluded to before, these two areas of improvement for Dejounte can potentially interact with one another, especially on offense. That is, if he's able to gain some strength, he may not have to worry quite as much about becoming a significantly better three-point shooter. On the other hand, if he's able to shoot from beyond the arc with more consistency, he may not have to worry about getting pushed around in the paint.

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Regardless of how Dejounte goes about it, if he is able to improve on at least one of these components of his game, he could quickly become a bonafide star for the Spurs.