Getting To Know: Toure’ Murry

After weeks of speculation, the Washington Wizards have finally decided to fill their 15th and final spot; just not with the player you were expecting. Not Will Bynum or Bobby Brown, not Ray Allen, and no, not Jordan Crawford. In the wake of Garrett Temple‘s injury, the Wizards will look to the D-League for a reinforcement, as the team is reportedly set to sign Toure’ Murry to a 10-day contract.

Murry, 25, played his college ball at Wichita State, where he led the Shockers to the second round of the 2012 NCAA Tournament, as well as winning the 2011 NIT. After going undrafted, Murry bounced around the D-League for some time, with stints for the Rio Grande Vipers (2012-2013), Erie BayHawks (2014), and Idaho Stampede (2014-2015) before returning the the Vipers, his current squad.

Murry had a cup of coffee in the NBA in last season, appearing in 51 games for the New York Knicks.

He averaged 2.7 points and 1 assist in 7.3 minutes per game on 43% shooting (42% from three). He then appeared in one game for the Utah Jazz this season before being waived and returning to the Vipers. Murry has been putting up solid numbers in his 23 D-League games, averaging 12.9 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists and 1.6 steals per game, but he’s shooting only 42% from the field.

So, why did the Washington Wizards choose Toure’ Murry over several other, more well known options? That remains to be seen, but they likely view Murry as a short-term Temple replacement.

At 6’5″, Murry is virtually the same size as Temple and bigger than guys like Bynum and Brown. He’s also, like Temple, a defense-oriented guard with the ability to distribute a bit. In essence, the Wizards are hoping that Murry can put on a decent Temple imitation until he can make his return.

Unfortunately, Murry is not a shooter, so fans thinking he can remedy that situation shouldn’t get their hopes up.

While Murry shot well for the Knicks in an extremely small sample size (5-12 from three), he’s shooting a measly 25% from three for the Vipers.

He’s not a spot up shooter or a floor stretcher; if anything, he’ll get his points up close (.475 2p%).

Toure’ Murry is only on a 10-day contract, so if things don’t work out, he’s likely back to the D-League. Murry isn’t going to make a big impact, and barring another injury, he’s not going to get many minutes.

He’ll play his limited role, contributing solid defense, maybe a bit of playmaking, and hopefully some shooting (don’t count on it). That’s about all it’s fair to expect; Murry isn’t an impact player, and it’s unreasonable to expect him, or any other call up for that matter, to fix the Wizards’ problems.

If he can serve as a solid Temple fill-in, he’ll have done his part.

*all stats used are from Basketball Reference