Did Kris Murray Turn Down an NBA Deal to Return To Iowa?

You'd understand if Kris Murray was tired of hearing about his twin brother Keegan. That Murray was recently named the MVP of the NBA Summer League. That Murray was the 4th overall pick in the NBA Draft. But it turns out that Kris Murray had his share of NBA interest too. Kris ended up returning to Iowa but new information shows just how close he was to leaving for the pros.

Yesterday, the University of Iowa unveiled its new NIL initiative called 'The Swarm'. It pays athletes equally while requiring those athletes to also do community service and work for charities. According to 247Sports, while discussing the issue with reporters, Iowa basketball coach Fran McCaffery dropped a nice piece of information regarding Kris Murray. McCaffery stated that Kris turned down an NBA two-way contract to return to the Hawkeyes. Just what did Murray turn down?

A two-way contract for a player means that they are eligible to play in half of the team's regular season games. The other half would be spent in the G-League. That means he would earn half of the rookie minimum salary. How much money did Murray turn down? $508,891. 247Sports says that McCaffery didn't reveal who offered the deal to Murray, but that he loves the fact he came back and "bet on himself."

Don't feel too bad for Kris though. He got a big laugh when images of the twins got mixed up during this spring's NBA Draft.

Kris Murray will have the chance to lead this Iowa team just like Keegan led last year's squad. Something tells me another special year could be coming for Iowa men's basketball. GO HAWKS!