Hawks acquire Dejounte Murray from Spurs
Via Adrian Wojnarowski
Spurs send:
Dejounte Murray (1 time all-star, 1 year left on his contract)
Hawks send:
Danilo Gallinari
2023 first round pick from Charlotte
Unprotected firsts in 2025 and 2027
Pick swap in 2026
Trade Grades
Hawks: A-
I love this trade for Atlanta. Albeit it’s high risk, their core is reaching a point of implosion. John Collins is likely still on the move, Bogdanovic could be gone. Same goes for Clint Capela and Kevin Huerter. I’m surprised they didn’t package more young players with Gallo. Three firsts and a swap is heavy and presents a massive downside risk if the Hawks bust and Trae Young asks out of town in two years. The Hawks almost assuredly have a handshake agreement with Murray for an extension.
Murray fits perfectly next to Trae Young. He’s elite defensively, has great length and can guard 1–3 effectively. He’s also a better finisher than Young. He covers up Young’s glaring defensive weakness well. He can’t shoot very well, but the Hawks supply shooting in excess. Deandre Hunter, Bogdanovic and Kevin Huerter are all good shooters. This trade brings together Atlanta’s roster nicely.
I’m guessing they make one more move before training camp. My guess would be that they package Bogdanovic and Collins or perhaps Capela and go get a 3 and D wing or a stretch four. Watch out for Deandre Ayton here. Maybe they send Capela and Collins in a sign and trade for Ayton.
Spurs: B-
Weird. Why exactly are they making this trade? Murray is a great player. An ideal building block for a rebuild. Murray must have let on that he wanted out after his contract, so maybe he did the Spurs a favor here. Perhaps Popovich is on his way out and they are bottoming out for 3 or 4 years. I don’t love this return. I question if they could have gotten a better building block for a rebuild. They probably could’ve gotten D’Angelo Russell and two firsts from Minnesota or maybe Ben Simmons and two firsts from Brooklyn. They went with Gallo. My guess is that they want to drag the anchor for the post-Pop era.
The upside for them on this trade is high. If things turn sour for Atlanta, San Antonio will be diabolically laughing in the background with two unprotected picks and a pick swap falling to them.
