Murray’s offensive role ‘not changing’ after Kings’ DeRozan addition originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
The Kings’ splash-offseason acquisition of DeMar DeRozan is elevating expecations for the team, but don’t expect it to drastically alter the roles of Sacramento’s established stars.
Among them is third-year forward Keegan Murray, who explained why he believes the Kings’ offensive structure will allow him to maintain his previous usage, while still creating opportunities for everyone on the floor to thrive.
“I feel like it’s almost an everyone eats kind of offense, so I don’t feel like my role is not changing, things like that,” Murray told reporters after Monday’s training camp practice. “So I feel like it’s been a smooth transition so far. No one has asked me to lay off the gas or anything like that. So, just contnue to be aggressive.”
Murray detailed that the flow of Sacramento’s offense remains the same, but DeRozan also gives the Kings a viable option in crunchtime when they need a basket in a half-court set.
“We’re flowing the same. Moving around, a lot of ball movement, player movement, things like that. But when you need a bucket, I feel like he’s a guy to kind of go to. I feel like he’s going to have success in this offense. I feel like everyone who is in the offense can have success.”
Murray averaged 15.2 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.7 assists on 45-percent shooting during the 2023-24 NBA season, providing Sacramento with crucial floor spacing from his ability to heat up beyond the arc.
DeRozan is a six-time NBA All-Star, coming off a season where he averaged 24 points, 4.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists for the Chicago Bulls.
It’s clear the team remains the utmost priority for the Kings, with any individual success sure to be a direct result of the extreme cohesion preached by coach Mike Brown and his players.