How good would Mike Dunleavy Jr and Troy Murphy be in the current NBA?

[Else_where]

I always thought they were about 15-20 years too early and currently both would be All Star players.

[UcanUwill]

why, because they could shoot? This is Bill Simmons take, every guy who could shoot in the past would be so good today, I hate it so much personally. I dont think they would be any better than they were, I mean they were pretty good, now every 6'9 can shoot, maybe not as good as these guys could per se, but what stands out about them in todays game to be all stars? If anything, maybe they would be worse than they were, at least Troy Murphy was unique in 2000s, now he would just be another guy IMO. I dont know, Ryan Anderson, Nikola Mirotic arent even in the league, were these guys much better?

[FluLikeSymptoms]

Bench guys, 6th and 7th men. Neither could defend. But they could play.

[pacers33]

Troy Murphy was an empty stats trashcan player who cared less about the game than Bargnani. Zero hustle. Anyone who thinks he would be much better in this era is a brainlet.

[brutalitops]

I always thought they were about 15-20 years too early and currently both would be All Star players.

Troy Murphy probably doesn't make the league and Mike Dunleavy is probably playing 5 less years in the NBA

How on earth do they become all star players? do you watch NBA games today and back in the past and think these guys could play? Duncan Robinson a superior player to both of them defensively and as a shooter and can't get game

[DaddyCool19]

What about a healthy Raef Lafrentz? Would he be better in this era?

[azcatz11]

What about a healthy Raef Lafrentz? Would he be better in this era?

The only player who would who has a similar archetype is Keith Van Horn. Does that answer your question?

[floppymoose]

Dunleavy had one strong year in MIL. I think peak Dunleavy could play in today's nba. Non-peak Dunleavy and all of Murphy are not really suited to today's nba imo.

[Kingdibs19]

Watch on YouTube

Mike is not that far removed from this era

[Harry Garris]

They’d be worse players today then they were in their era.

Their shooting ability would no longer be an outlier in comparison to the field, and they’d both be targeted defensively.

[cupcakesnake]

Dunleavy had one strong year in MIL. I think peak Dunleavy could play in today's nba. Non-peak Dunleavy and all of Murphy are not really suited to today's nba imo.

Milwaukee Dunleavy was solid but 2008 Indiana Dunleavy was peak Dunleavy. Coincidentally he played with Troy Murphy there!

Answering OP:
Dunleavy was a really skilled shooter and passer with really good size and length. He was such an underwhelming athlete that he struggled to assert himself at the NBA level. He started being really rickety and injury prone right before he hit his 30s but managed to play until he was 36 because who doesn't want a 6'9" guy who can shoot and pass. His defense also improved a bit when his veteran savvy started kicking in. I think even in his own time, Dunleavy could have been a little bit better if he'd been on the right team at the right time, or had better health to extend his prime. I don't see what the difference would be in today's NBA... He'd probably be able to play power forward a little more effectively than he did. I don't see an aspect of his game popping more, but I can see his playmaking being more valued.

Troy Murphy to me would pop less. He was a shooting and rebounding guy with some ball skills and below-average defense. There's a lot of shooting bigs now who are better defenders than Murphy. He's like Kelly Olynyk with better rebounding, but worse playmaking and slower feet. There Murphy would be an offensive specialist off the bench. Naz Reid, Thomas Bryant type. I think he'd be a rotation player, but not someone you rely on due to his meh defense.

[QPR]

I was just thinking this the other day

[Warriorfan]

If you look at the nba draft ratings of Murphy and Jokic Murphy is rated the much better athlete and close in size.

So different era but rebounding and shooting spans eras.

[skones]

What about a healthy Raef Lafrentz? Would he be better in this era?

The only player who would who has a similar archetype is Keith Van Horn. Does that answer your question?

Lol, wut. LaFrentz and Van Horn weren't AT ALL similar. LaFrentz was a legitimate rim protector when he was right.

[FluLikeSymptoms]

What about a healthy Raef Lafrentz? Would he be better in this era?

The only player who would who has a similar archetype is Keith Van Horn. Does that answer your question?

What? Not the same. KVH was a 4/3 and Raef was a 5/4. Raef would be as useful today, probably more. If you can protect the rim and shoot 3s well enough to stay out of the way on offence you can play C in the NBA. Poor man’s Brook Lopez. Also KVH would be decent now. Neither would live up to their draft spots if they were taken the same spots, and they’d both still be injured all the time, but what they did has survived basketball evolution.

[hippesthippo]

Prolly along the lines of Cedi Osman and current Kevin Love.

[ghillphx]

I always thought they were about 15-20 years too early and currently both would be All Star players.

How bored are you?

[JimmyPlopper]

Both players are currently Celtics and using the names Mike Muscala and Sam Hauser

[donkeylips]

i think dunleavy could play in todays league. he wouldnt be an all star but a rotational player.

[og15]

Dunleavy would be like a worse Joe Ingles. Ingles is a better defender and more aggressive on that end. I’m being facetious here, he would be solid but nothing special.

Troy Murphy would be picked on defensively, rotation player, but too many teams have options of forwards who can shoot and also defend. If Murphy could be a C, that would help, but he can’t protect the rim and he wasn’t much of a defender.

Neither would become anything close to an All-Star. The wild logic that al these guys who could shoot and were role players become All-Stars is bad understanding of what is happening on the court.