B/R Makes Bold Offseason Trade Proposal For Hawks Guard To land In San Antonio

Jackson Caudell | Apr 30, 2024

Nov 30, 2023; San Antonio, Texas, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Dejounte Murray (5) shoots over Atlanta / Daniel Dunn-USA TODAY Sports

The offseason rumor mill is in full swing. At the center of a lot of trade rumors are the Atlanta Hawks, who were one of the most disappointing teams in the NBA this season. After making a big swing for Dejounte Murray two years ago, Atlanta has not seen the kinds of results that it wanted and it could lead them to break up the duo this summer.

A lot of the focus in the trade rumors regarding Atlanta have surrounded Trae Young, but it was Dejounte Murray who was being shopped leading up to the trade deadline. Atlanta opted to keep Murray, but there is a chance he could be moved this summer instead.

What about trading him back to the team that drafted him?

The Spurs traded Murray and kicked off the rebuild that they are still in, but it landed them Victor Wembanyama and the future in San Antonio looks super bright with Wembanyama leading the way. He is likely going to win rookie of the year and is a finalist for defensive player of the year already. What the Spurs sorely need is a point guard to team up with Wembanyama and that has naturally led some to wonder if San Antonio would be interested in either trading for Young or reuniting Murray with Gregg Popovich.

Bleacher Report Anlayst Greg Swartz thinks the Spurs should consider it and proposed a bold trade proposal to send Murray back to the Spurs:

San Antonio Spurs Receive: PG Dejounte Murray

Atlanta Hawks Receive: F Keldon Johnson, PG Devonte' Graham, 2025 and 2027 first-round picks (via Atlanta Hawks)

"Some teams can slowly build a winner around their star rookie, adding top draft picks over time before going all-in to chase a championship. However, Victor Wembanyama is good enough for the San Antonio Spurs to start making win-now moves immediately. With a 75-year-old head coach in Gregg Popovich, patience isn't an option.

Murray developed into an All-Star point guard with the Spurs, spending his first six seasons in San Antonio before being traded to the Hawks in 2022. That experiment has all but failed.

A reunion with Popovich on a Spurs team that needs an upgrade at point guard makes too much sense not to happen. San Antonio showed interest in Murray at this year's trade deadline, according to The Athletic's Shams Charania, and Murray spoke highly about Popovich to Trae Young on Bleacher Report's "From the Point" podcast:

"I love that dude to death, man. Like, he was a father for me. When I would lose people, I would go in his room, and he would give me that hug. I would cry on his shoulder, I would vent to him," Murray said. "He just was there for me, and that's not even nothing about no basketball. We're talking about real life. When I got hurt, tore my ACL and was out for a year, he squeezed me like, 'You're going to be great. You work, you want to learn, so this is nothing.'"

Atlanta's front office could go straight out of a scene from Draft Day and demand (some of) their first-round picks back that they gave up for Murray in the first place, along with Johnson and a backup point guard for Young in Graham.

The Hawks would get a chance to reshape the roster around Young with control of their picks back. Johnson, who averaged 16.9 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.9 assists in 27 games as a starter this past season, would give them another rotation piece to plug in.

Meanwhile, Murray would become a leader on a young Spurs team that still has extra first-round picks coming from the Toronto Raptors (top-six protected in 2024), Charlotte Hornets (lottery-protected in 2025), and Chicago Bulls (top-10 protected 2025), as well as multiple future first-round swap rights."

This should be a trade that Atlanta considers if San Antonio would give all of that up. The only pick Atlanta would not have is their 2026, which San Antonio has the right to swap with. Keldon Johnson is an interesting depth piece, while Devonte Graham could be the new backup point guard. Atlanta could then use those picks to try and make a move for another player if they chose to. They would just need to find the right fit alongside Trae Young.