Kris Murray had a difficult time establishing a rhythm during his rookie campaign with the Portland Trail Blazers. The former Iowa standout spent the first two-thirds of the season playing sporadically, appearing in 34 of the Blazers’ first 54 games and averaging just 13.1 minutes per game. After being a first-team All-American at Iowa and the focal point of the high-flying Hawkeye offense, Murray had to adjust to the new realities of life as a pro by figuring out how to get himself on the court and earn the trust of his coaching staff and teammates.
As the season wore on, he realized he needed to embrace a different role and mentality. At Iowa, he was a scorer, but the Blazers aren’t lacking for on-ball shot creators. What Portland needed from Murray was to do the little things, which he took to heart, particularly on the defensive end.
“Defense gets you on the floor. I kind of came into the NBA as an offensive player, and I needed that mentality switch,” Murray told DIME. “And my defense probably was the biggest stride I took this last year, and just gave me a lot of confidence towards the end of the year. I was going against some of the best players in the league and was having some success, so it gave a big boost of confidence and helped me see the floor a lot more.”
After the All-Star break, Murray got moved into the starting lineup and averaged 32 minutes per game, as the Blazers fully shifted their focus to development and seeing what they had in their young players. It was a bit of trial by fire, but Murray came out of it with more belief than ever that he belonged, particularly as a defender and a connective piece. He was facing the league’s best wings every night, and quickly learned his mental preparation had to be right in order to take the strides needed to hold up.
“It’s definitely a lot of film,” Murray said. “Just seeing position-wise how I’m fighting through screens, ball pressure and how that affects the person on offense, different ways that I can put myself in a better position to succeed, especially on the defensive end. You don’t have a lot of time to react in the league, so the faster you can pick things up, the faster you can read tendencies, the more success that you’ll have.”
As he gets ready for his sophomore season, those last 28 games have buoyed Murray’s belief that he can be the kind of wing Portland needs alongside their young core of Scoot Henderson, Anfernee Simons, Shaedon Sharpe, and their most recent top-10 pick, center Donovan Clingan. However, he’s well aware that he can’t afford another season of shooting woes if he wants to continue building his role, especially with a more crowded wing rotation with the addition of Deni Avdija.
Last year, Murray shot just 39.6 percent from the field and 26.8 percent from three, far below the kind of efficiency both Murray and the Blazers hoped for. Some of that is the context around him, as floor spacing was not a strength of the 2023-24 Blazers as a whole — the team finished the year dead last in three-point percentage. Anyone who was a theoretical threat got tighter coverage, and with the various injuries and absences Portland had, it was difficult for anyone on the roster to get in a comfortable rhythm.
Even with that context, Murray needed to be better and knows that will be the skill that determines whether he establishes a regular rotation spot or goes back to spotty minutes. His main focus this summer has been dialing back in on the mechanics of his shot to get it more consistent and more NBA-ready.
“It’s definitely just shooting. This is probably the most shots I’ve ever got up in an offseason,” Murray said. “This is probably the most consistent I’ve been, just doing it every single day. At Summer League, I would want it to translate a little bit more, but I feel like my misses are good misses. I haven’t been missing left or right, really at all. It’s been on-line. It’s felt good, and the shot’s coming off really smooth. So the best you can hope for is just makes at this point, but that’s something I’ve been working on a lot.”
One of his focal points has been on making his release quicker, learning last year how fast the shooting window closes in the NBA. He doesn’t have to look far for some inspiration on how to do that, as he pointed to the Blazers’ veteran wing, Jerami Grant, as a guy he’s trying to pattern his shot after.
“The thing that I got from him was the catch high, keep high shot, where there’s no dip in your shot,” Murray said. “I got that from him. I’ve been able to use that a few times, and that’s kind of how I’ve been shooting it now. I don’t do a lot of dipping anymore. Jerami, he’s a really high IQ player on both sides of the ball, and doesn’t get rushed. He plays at his own speed. That’s what I’ve been trying to work on and get from him.”
Working on shot mechanics and building that muscle memory through repetition isn’t something new to Murray. In his spare time, the second-year wing makes his way to the golf course, where he finds a similar challenge in trying to build a consistent swing and has had to learn to let go of frustrations that are beyond his control.
“There’s a lot you can take away from golf into basketball, while also just helping you reset,” Murray said. “I mean, golf is a repetition sport. Every swing has to be the same. So, I kind of relate that to shooting. Every shot has to be the same, and your balance has to be the same in your base. And also it helps you mentally. There’s a lot of frustrating things about golf and things that aren’t going to go your way, that you can’t really control, and that can happen in basketball and in the NBA life, too. So, there’s things that I can take away from that that help me on the court, but also just gives me that reset off the court too.”
That mentality should serve Murray well. The Blazers are still in talent evaluation mode this season, but pretty soon they’ll be looking to consolidate talent and establish the group that will lead them into the future. With a leap as a shooter, Murray could certainly find his way into that group, as Portland needs wings that can defend and space the floor.
He believes his shot is smoother, quicker, and coming out of his hands more consistently on-line. Now, it’s a matter of getting shots to fall in game situations to secure himself a steady place in the rotation. Consistent minutes are never a guarantee, especially on a roster like the Blazers, but he’s confident that when provided an opportunity this season, he’ll be able to capitalize.