26.8, 22.5, and 27.9. Those are Kris Murray's three-point percentages for his first three seasons in the NBA.
Yikes.
The Portland Trail Blazers have consistently ranked near the bottom of the league in three-point efficiency throughout their rebuild. They ranked 28th this season, connecting on just 34.3 percent of their attempts. That's still well above Murray's career average of 25.9.
Murray fits Portland's defensive identity well due to his positional size as a 6-foot-8 wing and the switchability that comes with it. However, there are too many one-dimensional players on the Blazers' bench, and eventually something has to give for them to have more offensive juice.
Murray still has a $5.3 million team option for next season. Given his ability to impact winning without the ball and scalability as a role player, that's worth picking up for Portland, especially given the first-round investment in 2023.
Kris Murray is on thin ice in Portland
However, the Blazers shouldn't feel attached to Murray beyond that. If he continues to show little to no progress as a shooter, the Blazers would be better off clearing space to have a more balanced roster.
They already have too many players who shrink the floor coming off the bench, and can't afford to have Murray stick around much longer if he's already plateaued.
This is not to say he should be entirely out of the league. The league values defense, versatility, and wings now more than ever in the modern NBA. Perhaps that opens the door for Portland's front office to ship Murray to receive anything of future value rather than letting him walk. But the sooner the Blazers realize he's part of the problem, the better.
Despite playing just three seasons in the league, Murray is already 25 years old. He spent three years at Iowa, which meant he was perceived as one of the more NBA-ready prospects in the draft due to his collegiate success. Unfortunately, that has yet to be fully translated at the next level, and shooting is the main reason.
Blazers should decide between Kris Murray or Sidy Cissoko
Portland already committed to a similar player archetype this season, converting Sidy Cissoko's two-way contract to a standard one.
Murray may have been the more impactful player this season, but Cissoko shows more promise as a 22-year-old who actually continues to trend in the right direction offensively. Last year, he connected on 23.1 percent of his attempts beyond the arc. That's improved to 29.8 percent this season in Portland.
The age and upward trajectory suggest Cissoko is a better two-way investment than Murray. And due to the redundancies in terms of their position, strengths, and weaknesses, it will eventually be in Portland's best interest to decide between one or another.
Who knows, maybe Murray will finally show the signs of improvement this season and justify a continued investment. But he's certainly running out of time to prove he belongs in Rip City, despite being a first-round pick just a few years back.
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