New Blockbuster Three-Team Trade Proposal Sends Murray to Spurs, Bucks Shed Salary, Hawks Gain Future Flexibility

Could the Bucks help Atlanta get its picks back from San Antonio?

Dec 2, 2023; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Dejounte Murray (5) drives to the basket against Milwaukee Bucks guard Damian Lillard (0) in the second half at Fiserv Forum. Mandatory Credit: Michael McLoone-USA TODAY Sports / Michael McLoone-USA TODAY Sports

Tomorrow, all eyes will be on the Atlanta Hawks at the top of the draft. However, what happens after that? Regardless of whether the Hawks draft Zaccharie Risacher, Donovan Clingan, Alex Sarr or someone completely unexpected, the question of Atlanta's backcourt is still a pressing one.

The simple fact is that Trae Young and Dejounte Murray's skillsets are overlapping rather than complementary. While the front office does have a choice to make between them, it seems to be an obvious one. Trading Trae Young means sacrificing a proven post-season scorer and reliable offensive engine who elevates those around him. Let's not forget that the Hawks have finished inside the top-10 for offensive rating in four straight seasons with Young at the helm.

That is not to say that Dejounte does not have value. Although his defense has slipped in recent seasons, he is still capable of creating his own shot and spacing the floor. It is for this reason that San Antonio was reportedly interested in bringing their former first-round pick back to the Alamo City. Recently, ESPN's Jonathan Givony mentioned that the Spurs might take more of a patient approach in his latest mock draft.

“The Spurs are telling rival teams they will be taking a best-player-available approach at picks No. 4 and No. 8 despite having backcourt needs and a lack of shooting and playmaking — areas they’ll need to address in due time. Taking a patient approach seems to be San Antonio’s strategy for now, as there are plenty of scenarios in which more attractive options become available in the near future.”

Outside of Devin Vassell and Victor Wembanyama, no one else is a lock on the Spurs' roster. Getting players that maximize Wembanyama has to be their priority this off-season. Re-acquiring Murray is a step in that direction - no other realistic acquisition brings his combination of ball handling, midrange shot, defensive tools and three-point shooting . Previous proposals have sent Murray back to San Antonio in a simple. two-team trade where Atlanta recoups some of the draft capital it sent out for Murray in 2022.

At first glance, it does not seem like a situation where the Milwaukee Bucks could be involved. The Bucks are currently projected to be a "second-apron" team, which means their salaries currently exceed the second apron of the salary cap. As a result, they would be subject to these rules, per Sam Quinn of CBS Sports.

• No access to the taxpayer mid-level exception. These teams can only sign players for the minimum.
• No access to buyout players. If a player's salary at the beginning of a league year is above the non-taxpayer mid-level exception, he cannot sign with a second-apron team if he is waived during that season.
• No aggregating salaries in trades. Basically, you can't trade two $20 million players for a $40 million player, or a $40 million player and a $10 million player for two $25 million players.
• No flexibility in matching salaries through trades. Second-apron teams must send out as much or more money than they are taking back in any trade.
• No giving away cash in trades.
• No sign-and-trading your own players in exchange for other players.
• No trading first-round picks that are seven years away. These picks become "frozen," meaning they cannot be traded, and if a team spends more than two consecutive years above the second apron, those picks automatically move to the end of the first round.

Avoiding the second apron is likely the primary motivation behind their reported interest in trading center Brook Lopez. Lopez's ability to shoot threes and protect the rim next to Giannis has been critical to the Bucks over the past few seasons. Without him, they likely do not win the 2021 NBA Championship. However, tough decisions are going to need to be made in order to avoid the punitive restrictions listed above and make some improvements to the roster. The Bucks are reportedly shopping Lopez already, per Yahoo Sports' Jake Fischer. Fischer had this to say about the center's availability in a trade.

"League personnel told Yahoo Sports the Bucks are open to reshaping their roster, and they are gauging the trade value for Brook Lopez. Houston, sources said, cautioned Lopez that re-signing with Milwaukee could very well lead to him eventually being traded when the Rockets pursued Lopez in free agency a year ago."

Seeing as how the Bucks want to avoid this threshold, the Hawks want to offload Murray and the Spurs want talent around Wembanyama, what if these teams all participated in a three-team deal?

It should be noted that this is just speculative and a fun exercise to see what kind of moves can be made, not what I think a team should definitely do. That is all.

Here are the terms of the trade:

Hawks get: Devonte Graham, Pat Connaughton, 2025 Round 1 (via Atlanta)

Spurs get: Dejounte Murray, Brook Lopez, DeAndre Hunter, 2024 Round 1 (via Milwaukee), 2024 Round 2 (via Milwaukee)

Bucks get: Keldon Johnson, 2025 Round 2

It is worth noting that this trade would need to go down on draft night since Milwaukee cannot trade the pick before then. However, I think each team would walk away from this in a better situation.

The Hawks definitely lose out in terms of player acquisition. Graham was a veteran presence who did not play much for the Spurs. Even so, his salary is expiring and could easily be dumped or outright bought out if the Hawks wanted to do so. Pat Connaughton did not have a great year for Milwaukee, but could recapture some of the shooting that made him a valuable bench shooter for the Bucks. Again, his salary is manageable ($9.4 million in 2024-25) and does not prevent the Hawks from future moves. Atlanta's motivation is to get one of their first-round picks back and clear salary by moving Hunter and Murray.

The Spurs would walk out of this trade with a lineup capable of making the playoffs next year. Vassell has proved that he is capable of being a good off-ball player. His skillset complements Murray's in a way that Young' does not. Murray would be free to run the offense and slide in as the team's second or third option, depending on the night. Hunter is an easy replacement for Keldon Johnson, who would be sent to Milwaukee in this deal. Although he struggles with injuries, he's still a good perimeter defender who shoots 39% on five attempts per game. The Hawks' interest in Risaccher and the growth of Jalen Johnson suggests Hunter will rarely start games for Atlanta. Paying a $20+ million dollar salary for a sixth man is simply not the best use of resources. In San Antonio, he would likely start alongside Jeremy Sochan and give Wembanyama even more space to operate with.

Brook Lopez is an expensive option at backup center, but I'm intrigued by the promise of a Murray-Vassell-Hunter-Wembanyama-Lopez lineup. Lopez is a real threat from beyond the arc, so he would not clog up the spacing. He's already shown the ability to thrive next to a big like Giannis and Wembanyama is in a similar mold of player - albeit not as strong. Even if his $23 million dollar salary is expensive, it is an expiring contract.

As mentioned earlier, the Bucks would be safely under the second apron with this move and gain a rotation player in Keldon Johnson. The Spurs would be replacing Johnson with Hunter. Admittedly, those skillsets could be a wash and Johnson is on a lower contract. However, San Antonio picking up two more picks could be enough of an incentive to offload Johnson. He projects to be a high-end sixth man who plays with a good motor. Last year, he scored 15.7 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.8 assists on 45% from the field and 35% from three. The Bucks should be devoting every asset they have to go all-in on Giannis's prime and Johnson would be a very helpful piece for them.

This would be a pretty large draft-day deal, so it's fairly unlikely. However, I think each team addresses a primary need with this trade. It is a tough return to swallow for Hawks fans, but it gives the team a lot of flexibility to optimize the roster around Trae Young, Jalen Johnson and the future No. 1 overall pick.