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The Utah Jazz recalled rookie guard Kevin Murphy from the Reno Bighorns of the D-League on Tuesday, Jazz General Manager Dennis Lindsey said. Murphy is expected to be in Charlotte in time for the Jazz's game against the Bobcats Wednesday night.
The roster move was first reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
Murphy, whom the Jazz selected No. 47 overall in June's draft out of Tennessee Tech, averaged 13.2 points in 14 games with the Bighorns. He was sent to the D-League on Nov. 26, but after point guard Mo Williams was lost for a minimum of six weeks due to right thumb surgery and the team said starting small forward Marvin Williams would not play on the upcoming three-game road trip, the Jazz found themselves in dire need of perimeter depth.
Murphy appeared in three games for the Jazz before his D-League assignment. He scored 4 points in 9 minutes.
Lindsey sent Murphy to the D-League with a list of goals, including becoming a better team player. The first-year GM said the franchise was impressed with Murphy's growth and maturation during his assignment, particularly in the last 10 days. He scored a season-high 26 points on Dec. 8 against Bakersfield, and after enduring poor shooting nights in back-to-back games at Idaho on Dec. 28 and 29, scored 17.6 points over the last three games.
While Murphy's call-up no doubt was predicated on the urgency the Jazz face on the perimeter, the timing is good for Murphy as well. On Friday, the Jazz play the Hawks in Atlanta — Murphy's hometown and the city his wife and three-month-old son, Kevin Jr., live.
— Bill Oram
— Bill Oram