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The Sacramento Kings surprised a lot of fans by picking Keegan Murray at No. 4.
He's probably good for it, though.
The Kings have been pushed around the perimeter for years because they were too tiny and lacked depth. Murray changes that in a significant way.
The 6'8, 215-pound forward should shore up the Kings' frontline, becoming a good complement to Domantas Sabonis. Had Sacramento chosen Jaden Ivey, that would have made sense since Ivey was the most talented player remaining at No. 4. Ivey, however, would not have been the best fit for the Kings, who already have De'Aaron Fox. The player at No. 4 who was most likely to fit in best was indeed the 21-year-old Murray.
The former Hawkeye isn't confined to playing in the paint, though. He has, in fact, been known to play as a small forward as well. Murray has great size as an NBA swingman, and he can be effective on both ends of the floor.
The Sacramento Kings could benefit from Keegan Murray in a variety of ways, including transition scoring, sinking triples, and defensive tenacity. He is a multi-faceted scorer who doesn't require the ball in his hands to be efficient. This means he should complement ball-dominant players like Fox really well. Don't be shocked if he combines with Sabonis and Fox to kinda form a baby Big Three for the Kings.
If you're looking for player comparisons, Murray may ideally be reminiscent of Pascal Siakam or Tobias Harris in a lot of ways. Not bad company. His mid-level comparison would be Bobby Portis, while at worst, he could be the next Noah Vonleh.
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Keegan Murray Bold Kings Predictions
4. Murray will make at least 36.0 percent of his threes
When he was a freshman with the Hawkeyes, 3-point shooting was Murray's biggest problem. After improving his long-range shooting by 10% in his second season, it is now one of his strongest areas.
Zero idea what it means but the movement and movement shooting from Keegan Murray intrigues me. pic.twitter.com/DTcO6p7e1s
— Steve Jones Jr. (@stevejones20) July 5, 2022
In 2021–22, he made 50 tries from the top of the key and shot 44 percent of them, which is significant because that spot is where the majority of pick-and-pop 3-pointers are made. We can expect that Murray and Fox will do a lot of those this coming season. In addition, he made 166 attempts from downtown altogether and slightly under 40% of them from downtown.
3. Murray will grab at least 8.0 rebounds per game
He is an excellent rebounder, but with Sabonis patrolling the paint, Murray will likely not average double-digits in boards. Eventually, he may be a double-double threat on a regular basis. In his last US NCAA season, Murray had 10 double-doubles, one of which was dropping 27 points and 21 rebounds against North Carolina last November. Remember that he just finished second in the Big Ten in rebounding.
2. Murray will average at least 1.0 block and 1.0 steal per game
In college, Murray was a primary defensive anchor for Iowa. He has very active hands that can result in deflections and steals. He also has great timing when he has to protect the rim, which is great since Sabonis won't block many shots at center. It won't be far-fetched to imagine Murray leading the Kings in blocks per game while also netting around 1.0 swipe per contest. That would already make him arguably their most productive defender.
1. Murray will be the Kings' fourth-leading scorer
Keegan Murray was hooping tonight 🔥
24 PTS
7 REB
3 STL pic.twitter.com/gfMoHgV4mH— NBA (@NBA) July 5, 2022
Murray loves to run. This past season at Iowa, he often grabbed the defensive board, sprinted down the floor, and made his way to the hoop for coast-to-coast or rim-run makes. When Murray has the ball in transition, he is a lot like Kyle Kuzma, which is a good thing. Murray led the Big Ten in scoring last season, but that won't happen with the Kings. At least not yet.
Fox and Sabonis should be Sacramento's top two scorers, with Harrison Barnes being #3. Murray won't crack the top three yet, but he'll be close.
Keep in mind that he also received the Karl Malone Award (given to the greatest collegiate power forward), the Big Ten Tournament MVP Award, and was selected to the unanimous first-team All-American team. There's stardom in his pedigree.
