Average of 21 points, 5 rebounds and 1 break! This is 24-year-old Pippen! It s only 4 years old, Spurs, you shouldn t give up on him

Two years after winning the Wenban Yama, the Spurs finally got back on track. Although I missed the playoffs this season, it is undeniable that the reimbursement of Wenban Yama in the season has a great impact. If he can finish this season healthy, and Castle grows rapidly in the second half and Fox joins, it will be no problem for the Spurs to win a playoff spot. Although it is a pity, the Spurs still have great hopes to return to the playoffs next season.

Having said that, the Spurs still have problems at present, and the most obvious problem is "the powerless front." After all, Barnes is entering his twilight years and seems to have some signs of lying flat. After all, Champany is limited in talent, and Sohan, who is most highly anticipated, has no excuses in offensive development. In this case, if they have a small forward with fierce offensive firepower, the Spurs' situation will definitely be different, and the team's combat effectiveness and tactical richness will be greatly improved.

Once upon a time, the Spurs actually had the opportunity to get an excellent striker with both offense and defense, that is, Trey Murphy III, who the Spurs had focused on in the 2020 draft. The small forward was once listed in the Spurs' intentions, but was eventually abandoned by the Spurs.

At the 2020 draft, the Spurs also wanted to get a full-sized forward. What they wanted most at that time must have been Wagner Jr. and Kumingga, but both of them were selected in the top ten picks. Murphy, whom they once focused on, was eventually abandoned by the Spurs because of their ball-holding ability and plasticity and chose Primo instead.

Now, Murphy has played four seasons and in the regular season this season, he averaged 21.2 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.1 steals per game. What's important is that his ball-holding offensive ability has also been developed by the Pelicans. Coupled with his already excellent defense, the 24-year-old Murphy now has some shadow of Pippen.

According to Stat NBA statistics, Murphy ranks ninth in the league in effective single defense efficiency this season, second only to Amen Thompson and Dyson Daniels among the outside players. The most noteworthy thing is Murphy's defensive judgment. With his long arms, defensive smell and reaction ability, his steal rate also ranks among the top ten in the league. In terms of offense, averaging 21 points per game is the best proof, and his true shooting percentage is close to 60%, which is the data obtained under 4.3 free throws per game, which shows the value!

No one expected that Murphy's progress in the past four years was so great. Compared with the Spurs' Vasel and Kelden, Murphy's talent and learning ability were unquestionable. If the Spurs had chosen Murphy at the time, then what they could now line up was Fox, Castle, Murphy, Sohan and Vinban Yama. This lineup was honed and it was really not a big problem to win a playoff spot in the West!