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In Dirk's absence, Mavericks sign next best thing Troy Murphy
Dallas hopes Troy Murphy will fill the forward position void until Dirk Nowitzkireturns from his knee injury.Keith Allison/Wikimedia commons
The Dallas Mavericks signed forward Troy Murphy to a one-year deal on November2.
After just two games, the Dallas Mavericks apparently came to the conclusion that they needed a Dirk Nowitzki clone. Or at least a reasonable facsimile. The Mavericks signed Troy Murphy to a one-year contract on November 2.
The 6-11 forward is Dirk-like in that he’s tall and can shoot, but he certainly isn’t the dynamic scorer that Nowitzki has been throughout his career. Murphy has a career scoring average of 10.9 points per game, with Nowitzki averaging 22.9 points per game.
Nowitzki has not played in the regular season due to arthroscopic surgery on his knee during the preseason. He is expected to return sometime in November.
The 6-11 forward is Dirk-like in that he’s tall and can shoot, but Troy Murphy certainly isn’t the dynamic scorer that Nowitzki has been throughout his career.
Murphy does have a solid outside shooting touch. He’s a career 39 percent shooter from behind the 3-point line, which is one percentage point better than Nowitzki, though the Mavs’ star has made nearly 1,300 3-pointers and Murphy has only made 602.
One other thing Murphy has is experience working under Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle. Murphy was traded from Golden State to Indiana in January of 2007 and played nearly half the year for Carlisle, averaging 11.1 points and 6.1 rebounds.
Carlisle was fired after that season. Murphy remained in Indiana for three more seasons and continued to put up double-digit points. For the past three years he’s served as a reserve in Boston, New Jersey and in Los Angeles with the Lakers.
To make room for Murphy the Mavericks cut Eddy Curry from its 15-man roster. Dallas is 2-1 after beating Charlotte 126-99 in the Mavs home opener on Saturday. Murphy played nine minutes in that game, grabbing five rebounds. He did not score.
