“Troy is relieved to have this decision behind him, and is incredibly happy to become a Celtic,” his agent, Dan Fegan, said this afternoon while confirming Murphy’s decision to pick the Celtics over Miami. “It was a super-close decision, because he had to choose between two great organizations and two great teams.”
Though Murphy stood to play more minutes in the Miami system, he reportedly preferred what the Celtics had to offer at both ends, including a help defensive system, led by Kevin Garnett, that would help him adapt.
Murphy’s main reservation stemmed from the Celtics’ trade for Jeff Green and Nenad Krstic - two players who will command time in the same spots. But Green is also slated to back up Paul Pierce at small forward, and Krstic doesn’t have Murphy’s rebounding credentials.
“It was a tough choice,” he said tonight. “Both are great franchises that do things the right way. But I have always followed the Celtics, and I had hoped to get picked by them (in 2001). But Joe Johnson (at No. 10) was a great pick, and I guess they were going with potential when they took (Kedrick Brown at No. 11).”
The last line is the best as it's always awesome to have someone try and explain the Kedrick Brown pick (as well as Chris "
The Buffoon" Wallace's preference to keep him over JJ). I think fans are going to like Murphy as he'll hit the 3 ball and grab some boards, and playing next to KG, I imagine he'll up his defensive effort as well.