Portland Trail Blazers 2022 NBA Draft spotlight: Keegan Murray

How Keegan Murray would fit with the Portland Trail Blazers

Keegan Murray’s fit on offense with the Portland Trail Blazers should be rather seamless. He’s already proven to be an efficient volume-shooter from deep, striking on 37 percent of his 3-pointers with over four attempts per game.

He’s also a terror in transition and should provide a much-needed finisher on the breaks for the often plodding-Trail Blazers offense.

On defense, he’s long, rangy, and versatile. At 6’8, 225-lbs with a 6’11 wingspan, he’s perfectly built to feature as a stretch-four in today’s NBA.

He’s defined productivity, putting up 23.5 points and 8.1 rebounds per game while leading the Hawkeyes to their current 19-8 record.

Murray should be able to slide right in and produce what Robert Covington was brought to the Trail Blazers to do: play elite help defense, produce stops one-on-one on the wings, spot-up for wide-open triples, and finish plays created by Damian Lillard, Anfernee Simons, and Nurk.

Coming from a smaller program where he originally came off of the bench, Murray should be more than willing to play a role in the NBA. As he’ll be 22 by the time the 2022-2023 NBA season kicks off, his body should already be close to fully developed and able to withstand professional physicality.

While Murray’s ceiling may not be as high as some of the freshmen prospects, he should be able to contribute from day one — which is exactly the type of player that Damian Lillard needs from the draft.