Welcome to the Open Thread. During the month of June, we are talking NBA Draft. As we lead up to the 2025 NBA Draft on June 25th, we will be revisiting the Spurs draft choices. Today we remember the 2016 NBA Draft.
Spurs chose Dejounte Murray with the 29th pick in the draft. He spent his rookie season backing up Tony Parker. Parker suffered a leg injury during the postseason, which allowed Murray to start in Game 3 of the Western Conference Semi-Finals,
The next season Parker yielded his starting spot to Murray, handing him the baton. Murray then became the starting point guard for the Spurs. At the start of the 2018-2019 season, Murray suffered an ACL injury in preseason that kept him out for the entire year.
He returned in 2019 and for the next three seasons, his output improved. Scoring, assists, and rebounds all increased. In 2022, Murray served in the All-Star Game as a replacement to Draymond Green.
In the summer of 2022, Murray was traded along with Jock Landale to the Atlanta Hawks for Danilo Gallinari and multiple future first-round picks including the fourteenth pick that materializes later this month.
Murray played with the Hawks for two seasons in an attempt to build a backcourt powerhouse with Trae Young. The experiment did not produce as expected and Murray was traded to New Orleans for a bevy of players and picks.
Isaiah Cousins, chosen with the 59th pick, never suited up for the Silver & Black. He has bounced between the G-League (Reno, Salt Lake City, and Maine) as well as overseas clubs (France, Greece, Estonia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovakia, and multiple stints in Israel), filling his passport along the way.
Welcome to The Thread. Join in the conversation, start your own discussion, and share your thoughts. This is the Spurs community, your Spurs community. Thanks for being here.
Our community guidelines apply which should remind everyone to be cool, avoid personal attacks, not to troll and to watch the language.