FanPost

Toure' Murry and The New Jazz System


Rumor has it, the Jazz are close to signing 6'-5" combo guard Toure' Murry. Like everyone on our roster not named Steve Novak, Murry is a young-ish (24 years old, going into his second year in the league) player who needs minutes to develop. So why the mutual interest? Why would Murry come to Utah and what do the Jazz see in a second year guard who averaged 7.3 minutes a game for the Knicks? For Murry the answer is easy, the Jazz can and will pay him more than cash strapped franchises like the Knicks, Lakers, and Heat. For the Jazz, the answer is not so clear. The Jazz have met the requirements for roster spots and minimum salary. This is another rebuilding year, a year that wont be judged by wins and losses and I doubt that anyone thinks Toure' Murry is being signed to help us win games this season. Between Trey, Alec, and Dante there aren't many minutes left at the guard positions. So where will Toure' Murry find minutes and earn his paycheck?

In Idaho. One of the best moves the Jazz made this off season was entering into a Single Affiliation Partnership with the Idaho Stampede. The Jazz wanted more options to develop their young players with greater control over what skills those players are developing. I believe that, if signed, Toure' Murry will become the first player to enter the Idaho Stampede development system and I think that the Jazz are putting him there with an end goal in mind. I don't think that Dennis Lindsey is signing Toure' Murry to be the Toure' Murry that you see here. I think the Front Office wants to mold Toure' Murry's game into a 3 and D style. I think the Jazz are looking to send Toure' Murry down that path that was paved by Danny Green.

Murry's rookie year was very similar to Danny Green. Green, a 6'-6" shooting guard, averaged 5.8 minutes a game for the Cavs during his rookie season in 09-10. He shot 39% from the field and 27% from 3. Cleveland waived Green before the beginning of the 10-11 season. He was signed by the Spurs in November 2010 and cut from the team 6 days later, appearing in two games. Green was acquired by the Reno Bighorns where he played 16 games before being re-signed by the Spurs in March 2011. A year later, Green became the starting shooting guard for the Spurs.

There is no guarantee that Toure' Murry will ever become a quality role player in the NBA but he is exactly the kind of diamond in the rough player that can benefit from the Jazz's new D-League affiliate.

All comments are the opinion of the commenter and not necessarily that of SLC Dunk or SB Nation.