Dejunta Murray is gone.
The Spurs sent away the only All-Star on the team. In exchange for three first-round picks for the Atlanta Hawks (2023 Hornets, 2025, 2027 Hawks) and one first-round swap (2026 Hawks).
When Murray was selected to replace the injured Dreamers into the Western Conference All-Star last season, countless people sighed:
"After GDP and Leonard, spurs have finally produced an All-Star, and a revival is in sight."
But people who have watched the Spurs' ball in recent years should have experienced,
Murray is great, but not great enough.
He is 1.96 meters tall, with an arm span of 2.11 meters, and has long hands and long feet. At the same time, it is alert, stable and has a big picture view.
When he first came to the Spurs, he played as a second substitute, and the next year (17-18), he played the main force and entered the defensive second team.
He later rested for a year with injuries, but after returning from the 19-20 season, he was still the main force of the Spurs' iron play.
Popovich loves the kind of defenders who are stable, calm, and able to string the team's offense together, from Everly Johnson to Parker to George Hill.
In his eyes, Murray was more general than White, who went to the Celts.
In the 20-21 season, Murray averaged 15.7 points, 7.1 boards and 5.4 assists per game.
Last season, he averaged 21.1 points, 8.3 boards and 9.1 assists per game.
Aside from Doncic, there is probably no more comprehensive defender in the league than him.
If you consider the influence of both offensive and defensive ends, you can even say that he is the "all-round king" of today's league defenders.
However, he is not the cornerstone star of Duncan and Leonard who can support a team.
Murray's static talent is good, but explosiveness and speed are not strong, so he does not have the ability of the peak Westbrook, Rose, and Wall to single-handedly push the whole team to attack.
He has a high percentage of ball blocks and a good throw, but his ability to change his vision and rhythm cannot be taken like Harden and Doncic.
And most importantly, his projection.
No three-point shooting rate has exceeded 38 percent in a season, and last season was a bumper year for his long-range shooting, and he only averaged 1.4 three-pointers per game with 32.7 percent shooting.
He is a trustworthy qualified organizer. Will be a good deputy and second in command, so the Hawks will not hesitate to use four first-round signings to ask him to go over to assist Trae Young.
But it's less comfortable to expect him to hold up a team.
Especially in a team like the Spurs, which has a strong historical heritage and has the greatest fourth position in history.
Murray is definitely a qualified Spur, but by no means the "Duncan successor" That Bobo has been waiting for.
In recent years, the Spurs have probably been the most disciplined team in the league.
There's no mess, no scoring, and no breaking news.
With Bobo there, they still play traditional group basketball.
DeRozan went to the bull to let people know how hard he threw off his arms,
Mills went to the Nets, and at one point was also an outside thigh.
The Spurs' collective style of play has somewhat limited the individual players' play.
Murray, White, Kelden Johnson, and Porter are all good boys, and putting them into a championship-level team is an indispensable key puzzle.
The year before, Forbes went to the Bucks and got a championship ring,
This year White went to the Celtics and the people were immediately in the core rotation and rushed to the Finals.
Under Popovich, there will always be a group of good professional players who can play with peace of mind and plug and play.
And he and the Spurs lack a "Duncan-style" team building foundation.
And six years after Duncan retired in 2016, he seems to have finally waited for that person.
Victor Vinbanyama
Born in France in 2004, he is 2.19 meters tall and has an arm span of 2.34 meters.
And the skill, coordination, and explosiveness that far exceed this height.
The first time he stunned the world was a video circulating online.
Facing the big brother of the national team, now the NBA's best defensive center Gobert, he used such a set of face-frame techniques to score.
He has been playing in the French + Europa League for a year, averaging 8.4 points, 4.6 boards and 2.4 blocks per game in 18 minutes.
But almost every goal and block he makes NBA scouts and general managers drool.
Can fire outside the three-point line, already has a good face frame skill, can retreat, can crotch, and even can jump backwards!
Many scouting reports say he is Gobert with NBA offensive skills.
But in fact, he is more like Porzingis, who debuted in 2015, a "unicorn material" with a figure of more than 7 feet, but can play like a small striker.
In this year's draft, the Thunder won almost the same "bamboo pole" genius in the second pick, Homegren, so the Internet exclaimed oklahoma took another Durant.
And if Homegren's goal is the next Kevin Durant, then Vinban Yama is at least a plus-size Homegren.
At last year's U19 World Cup, the two played each other in the final. Wenban Yama had 22 points, 8 rebounds and 8 blocks, including 3 hot pots for Homegren, who scored 10 points, 7 boards and 5 assists.
Although the United States eventually eliminated France 85-81, the two teams were almost deadlocked. It was after the five crimes of Theven Ban Yama that the American team took control of the situation and won the final victory.
Throughout the tournament, Vincent Can scored 14 points, 7.4 rebounds, and an exaggerated 5.7 blocks.
As early as the beginning of this year, there was already a consensus among the league's scouts:
If VinbanYama and Homegren had entered the draft together, it would undoubtedly have been the one with the higher pick.
His biggest deficiency, or uncertainty, is that he looks thinner than Homegren.
It's hard to imagine what it would be like for him to enter the league now and be destroyed by that group of muscle sticks.
If Zion is like a "baby" born to O'Neill and Barkley,
Navinbanyama and Homegren are like the "offspring" of Bradley and Polpol the Elder.
But even if there is a risk, it is worth spurs and Popovich to give him a try.
Because of his potential and upside, it is too suitable for today's NBA, which emphasizes space and projection.
Good players who train hard and are practical are easy to get,
Such a super genius with amazing talent and potential is too difficult to find.
Finally, there is another point worth playing,
Currently, Wembanyama plays for Esville, France, and the general manager and majority shareholder of this team is,
Tony Parker.
Now that the Spurs are not interested in him, can you believe it?