Dejounte Murray on his time with The Spurs

[JonFromVA]

I'd take what DJ said about Pops as a compliment, and Pops treatment of him seemed to have the desired effect of motivating him to work hard and get better. As for Parker, not everybody is going to make a good mentor; but Ricky Rubio very nearly has a second career playing that role for different teams. So we know how helpful Parker could have been if he was wired that way.

Not really all that much to get upset about in this one, give or take that insinuation in the follow up tweet that he was holding back and could have flamed the organization to the point fans would abandon the Spurs.

[islandkid12]

lmao the internet's funny. None of us personally know DJ but a bunch of statements on DJ's character based off a two minute clip from twitter

Yeah because its not like there’s any history of DJM being a dick existing right? Or is bouncing the ball off of amateur player’s heads in a pro am league normal behavior?

Dude is unlikeable af

lol is this your first time seeing top overall picks being hunted when they get to the league? happens every year - that's a non story

[SoulJah]

if douche bag had a face, it would be Dejonte Murray. No wonder a class organization like Spurs got rid of this spoiled ass brat.

[ATLTimekeeper]

I remember the Spurs talking about their pre-draft sense of humour test and how they could tell Kawhi was "over himself" before he got into the league. Murray could not possibly have passed that test. Good on him for becoming a decent player, but it's not like Tony Parker would have mentored him into something better.

[jokeboy86]

I'm confused. Has Murray felt he's been slept on his whole career or something because from the second he was traded to the Hawks I've been getting this impression. I mean kudos to him if its giving him motivation but he may be a little bit naïve if he thinks some of these people he's been calling out are even thinking about him like that.

[threethehardway]

Yeah that's totally all he said. Lmao. This interview was 2 hours dude. You need the reality check bro

Not to mention people like y'all think we only watched a two minute clip and not his entire career up to this point.

I am talking about OP.

And he didn't say anything inflammatory over the 2 hour interview.

Most of y'all here are just male groupies and gossipers that get upset every-time an athlete doesn't bow down and grovel at the feet of a franchise and a coach.

A two minute clip generates 10 pages of whining, complaining and judgement.

[Sharkboy242]

lmao the internet's funny. None of us personally know DJ but a bunch of statements on DJ's character based off a two minute clip from twitter

Yeah because its not like there’s any history of DJM being a dick existing right? Or is bouncing the ball off of amateur player’s heads in a pro am league normal behavior?

Dude is unlikeable af

lol is this your first time seeing top overall picks being hunted when they get to the league? happens every year - that's a non story

Not sure how what you said relates to Murray showcasing his douchey behavior by bouncing the basketball off of amateur players heads.

You said were judging his character based off of one clip. Im saying nah here’s more douchey things hes done.

[Irabrahamt]

such a horrible coddled generation

not everyone obviously

but Murray is a great example of that
good player but entitlement is just oozing out of him
he's talking like a 3 time champion when he hasn't accomplished all that much

but u pay a young kid 100M+ to play basketball and be ultra famous so that's what ya get

you gotta listen to the interview, kids down to earth as they come.. Tony Parker never came off as mr take them under my wing or mr. sacrifice. Spurs would have been better bringing him off the bench instead of manu during that whole run.. duncan and manu were selfless. we covered him with the same blanket as the rest of the organization

[G R E Y]

From that short clip, Murray seems like an entitled brat with very little self awareness. That does not surprise me at all given he's 25 years old, spent his entire formulative years focused on bouncing a ball which in return gave him fame and riches.

Listening to Stephen Jackson's comments in the same podcast you can understand where Murray's venom was coming from, Parker was not a liked teammate which we probably all could have guessed since he broke the bro code in addition to being French.

My takeaways
1/ NBA podcasts are absurd, these guys are highly talented but it's at playing basketball and not filling out a 2 hour podcast. However they are great for generating drama and soap opera gossip when guys start dishing dirt, just look at the attention this thread has received.
2/Duncan is a genius for making the system for work so long with this cast of characters in his locker room.

Fixed for you.

But Timmy's career barely, hardly, overlapped with DJ's. All that ego was being suppressed by Pop and PATFO and now post-trade DJ is showing some of what had to be dealt with and managed.

[G R E Y]

I'm confused. Has Murray felt he's been slept on his whole career or something because from the second he was traded to the Hawks I've been getting this impression. I mean kudos to him if its giving him motivation but he may be a little bit naïve if he thinks some of these people he's been calling out are even thinking about him like that.

Yep. He was in the green room draft day and slipped hard to the end of the first round because of his background issues. Now those are not his fault, but they factored for teams that were considering him yet still passed.

When Spurs drafted him it was oh they saved my life now it's oh mind games. For a kid who never grew up with any structure and discipline it may have felt like chafing but he seemed to benefit from it.

Derrick White had a harder time getting to the NBA from a basketball, not family, perspective and all he's had to say about Pop off court was even more complementary than about what he learned on it, and he learned a lot.

But DJ took it as mind games or trying to be suppressed (the latter is my word, I forget what exact wording DJ used) but he said Pop liked Derrick better because he wasn't a yes man, implying Derrick was.

Well Derrick grew up in a trusting environment where not everything that is a test is bad for you or trying to break you. Not everything is a **** me against the world scenario. He still views the world that way.

And he still thinks he should have been taken in the lotto.

And he still thinks the Spurs system held back all he has to offer.

Well at the 41-game mark of this season, we had only TWO fewer wins than a DJ-centric offense last season where he was top in usage, where he got to shine the hell out of his game. So thanks again for showcasing it and for the subsequent picks.

[AdagioPace]

taking the ball away from a dribbling washed up self-centered Parker was one of the funniest thing for a Spurs fan to witness between 2016 and 2018, first in favour of Kawhi/Mills, then Murray.

[bradybunch]

Parker is a selfish scumbag.

Everyone already knew it.

[G R E Y]

More clownish comments. Dude just cant help himself.

Counter point: I bet Spurs could very well say the same given the examples of his dubious behaviour since the trade. It's a calculation to move someone in their prime, but I bet the impact of keeping a mercurial player also factored in the decision.

[SK21209]

SJax has been really bitter toward the Spurs ever since they cut him during the season in 2013, which is unfortunate because 2003 Spurs playoff SJax was pretty fun and he had that great game 6 against OKC in 2012 as well. He's always diminishing the Spurs/Duncan on his podcast.

Quick rule of thumb for young NBA players, if you take issue with how the Spurs are handling something basketball-related they're probably right and you're probably wrong. They're not infallible by any means but the track record speaks for itself. The irony here is that the Spurs empowered Murray as their starting PG at a really young age, just like they did with Parker. He was supposed to go through the playoff wars with Kawhi and Aldridge early in his career and grow into a team leader just like Parker did. Obviously that didn't work out, but they showed faith in him when he was still extremely raw and couldn't shoot at all.

[G R E Y]

In a broader POV going on SJax's podcast will always get some SA /Spurs heat. Dude is straight up stuck in 2013 when he got cut.

If he were the player he says, his subsequent career would have reflected it. Alas...

Plus he got cut mostly because of his attitude vs. the one that was needed for the post-season.

Players, DJ included, should take note of what it actually takes to compete at the highest level. Teams need players who will buy in; franchises want players who will be professional. What you say about a team or players ultimately says more about you.

That's not to say that actual abuse situations should be suppressed. It's good for these to come to light.

Nor are the Spurs the right fit for everyone, but that's what background checks are for.

But the entire body of work on and off the court post-trade is getting examined by franchises. And in DJ's case teams are asking themselves whether what he brings cumulatively is worth investing a max contract averaging high 30-low 40 M$ per year.

So go ahead and keep speaking your truth, DJ. The league is listening about how you're all about you.

SJax is a cautionary tale and he wants players who validate his POV. Savvy players should see through it and not take the bait. Combustible is not trustworthy or dependable.

[Clyde Frazier]

Clip started with xenophobia and ended with every cliche in the book. Not calling the spurs organization perfect, but they aren't going to waste a first round pick on you if they don't think you have the potential to meaningfully contribute. A vet eventually leaving after losing their starting spot is also super common.

[G R E Y]

^ Case in point:

Read on Twitter

[-Sammy-]

I don't understand why so many folks want to seize on any opportunity they can to interpret a story to mean that the Spurs organization is evil and terrible.

These folks were all over the Kawhi thing and seemed legitimately thrilled at the prospect that Pop and the front office were being exposed as wicked; watching them fall silent as the truth about Kawhi and his camp emerged was very satisfying.

But here they are again, ready to trash the whole system over some unsubstantiated comments a traded player with his own obvious issues made to a former player with a known grudge against the Spurs that you can see from space.

It's weird. I can't begrudge anyone with issues against Parker over the terrible thing he did to his teammate, but it's the eagerness with which some people want to disparage everyone in the organization, and the culture within, that mystifies me-- especially since the fruit of that culture speaks for itself and since nobody with firsthand experience who doesn't have an obvious personal motive for castigating it has ever done so (much the opposite, in fact).

[dooki667]

such a horrible coddled generation

not everyone obviously

but Murray is a great example of that
good player but entitlement is just oozing out of him
he's talking like a 3 time champion when he hasn't accomplished all that much

but u pay a young kid 100M+ to play basketball and be ultra famous so that's what ya get

He's one of the best 250 players in the world. He's accomplished a chit ton the second he stepped onto an NBA floor. I dunno about yall, but if i get a multi-million dollar contract when im like 19 with the potential to make 100's of millions, ya, ima be feeling myself too.

No1 sees it that way though but you right he's already reached the premiere job in his profession and than became a starter like yeah that's a small minority group right there.

[E-Balla]

Clip started with xenophobia and ended with every cliche in the book. Not calling the spurs organization perfect, but they aren't going to waste a first round pick on you if they don't think you have the potential to meaningfully contribute. A vet eventually leaving after losing their starting spot is also super common.

It's a stretch to say it's xenophobic for him to point out they brought in Nico because he played on the Olympic squad with Manu that off-season especially now that we know for a fact he had no business getting on an NBA squad at all or playing over Murray. Murray played a total of 43 minutes while Nico was on the team in the first quarter of the season and Nico had zero business even stepping on an NBA floor.

As far as Tony goes I'm going to guess it goes beyond him just leaving the team and that he didn't want to get too much into detail. This entire thread is acting like Tony Parker isn't well known for being arguably the worst teammate in NBA history. From Brent Barry, to Kawhi, to Stack, to Murray tons of former Spurs have had nothing but bad things to say about TP. Duncan and Manu you rarely hear anything negative about but Tony gets constant heat.

Murray said nothing out of line, and nothing we didn't see with our own eyes. I'm guessing that was because he didn't want to slander the Spurs Organization. They have more than a few clear problems with how they treat certain guys while others have stupidly long leashes. Again back to Tony he's the only Spur that could've injured his eye fighting a rapper and r&b star in the club and not gotten a suspension. Obviously that's going to rub guys on a short leash the wrong way especially when your organization has a history with treating players with poorer backgrounds poorly.