Dejounte Murray will team up with Trae Young in an exciting backcourt for the Atlanta Hawks next season.
Dejounte Murray has been traded to the Atlanta Hawks from the San Antonio Spurs. This is a huge pickup for the Hawks, as they get another good guard to pair up with their star player, Trae Young.
Earning his first All-Star appearance, 25-year-old Murray averaged a career-high 21.1 points, 9.2 assists, 8.3 rebounds, and 2.0 steals per game last season.
On the other hand, the San Antonio Spurs are looking for a complete rebuild. They didn’t want to waste the potential of Murray, and traded him to a better situation. The former Spurs guard was an all-star last season and drew interest from a number of teams throughout the season.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski: “The Atlanta Hawks are trading forward Danilo Gallinari and three first-round picks to the San Antonio Spurs for All-Star guard Dejounte Murray.”
The Atlanta Hawks are sending a 2023 first-round pick via the Charlotte Hornets, and their own 2025 and 2027 first-round picks to the San Antonio Spurs in the deal for Dejounte Murray.
How do the Atlanta Hawks look after the Dejounte Murray trade?
This is a huge acquisition for the Atlanta Hawks. The pressure and load will be less on Trae Young, and that’ll help him develop his game to a greater extent. Moreover, the Hawks didn’t give away any big players to get Murray, and they were able to finally offload a huge contract on their books.
The biggest win for the Hawks was that they didnt give away John Collins in this deal. It was earlier rumored that the Hawks might package Collins in the deal to bring Dejounte Murray.
Even though Collins is still likely to get traded, they can use him to add other good pieces to the team. John Collins’ five-year, $125M contract with the Atlanta Hawks has four more years to run. Since his selection, he has been a vital member of the Hawks’ squad, therefore it is still unclear why they are trying to trade him.
He can hit three-pointers, grab lobs from Trae Young, and is one of their finest defenders. He also adds a huge body that the Hawks squad is lacking.
Only behind Trae Young, Collins was their second-highest scorer in the last season. The trade’s final destination is not yet known. Many teams, though, will be looking to add Collins to their roster.
The Atlanta Hawks are still likely to make more moves, as they’ll look to get better and make a championship-contending roster for years to come spearheaded by Trae Young.
Why did the San Antonio Spurs trade Murray to the Hawks?
The San Antonio Spurs gave away their best player in Dejounte Murray without getting a star player in retrun. This has left many people wondering about the decsiion.
As things currently stand, this Spurs team is not going anywhere. They couldn’t even make the playoffs, and they didn’t want to waste the potential of Murray. As a result, they traded him to a better situation and got numerous picks in return. They can use those picks to draft good players in the future.
Moreover, next year’s draft class is stacked, and the Spurs could be a lottery team following the departure of Murray. As a result, they can get their hands on a next generation player who could become the face of the franchise for years to come, just like the likes of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobli, and David Robinson did.
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