Realistic Expectations for Denver Nuggets Rookie Jamal Murray in 2016-17

The Denver Nuggets were fortunate to have Jamal Murray fall to them at No. 7 in the 2016 NBA draft. He was exactly what they were looking for: a three-point shooter who can play both guard positions.

The Nuggets thought so highly of Murray that they had him slotted at No. 3 on their 2016 NBA draft board, according to Christopher Dempsey of the Denver Post.

That’s not a surprise considering his success at Kentucky—Murray was the first player under John Calipari at UK to average better than 20 points per game. Considering the pros Cal has run through Lexington, that’s quite the achievement. 

Murray was one of the best natural scorers available in this draft, and Denver saw him as an ideal fit because it believes he can coexist with second-year point guard Emmanuel Mudiay or thrive in a more ball-dominant role when Mudiay goes to the bench. 

“Those people who have only seen him at Kentucky see him as an off-the-ball player, but before he got to Kentucky, he was a true point guard,” Denver coach Mike Malone said on the ESPN telecast during Denver’s summer-league opener. “We’ll have him on the ball. We’ll have him off the ball, and we’ll allow him to play a lot his rookie season.”

Murray showed through five games in summer league that he can score, averaging 19.6 points, but his inefficiency was concerning. He shot 42.5 percent overall and just 27.6 percent from beyond the three-point line.

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Murray is expected to compete for the starting shooting guard spot with Gary Harris, but it’s more likely he’ll come off the bench.

That could be a better role for him anyway, if you want to read into the small sample size of summer league. The Nuggets had their young backcourt of Mudiay and Harris play one game in Las Vegas, and Murray started alongside them.

The rookie got lost in that game when on the floor with both young guards. The shots he did take were forced, and he had more success the rest of the week as the primary ball-handler. 

Just so you know: Murray has 10 points so far THIS QUARTER.#NBASummer #Nuggets pic.twitter.com/yrzphDBY3p

— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) July 15, 2016

Playing off the ball, as Malone said, shouldn’t really be too much of a concern. Murray spent most of his time at Kentucky in that role because of point guard Tyler Ulis. The Wildcats were so dependent on those two guards that Murray still got plenty of chances to create with the ball in his hands. He also showed an impressive ability to catch and shoot coming off screens. 

The Nuggets still have veteran point guard Jameer Nelson locked up for two more years, and they could use his wisdom in the rotation with so many young guys on the roster, particularly in the …

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