Spurs-Hawks Trade For Dejounte Murray Hinges On Gregg Popovich?

The Spurs and Hawks have been discussing a trade involving Dejounte Murray. Why hasn't it happened yet?

The San Antonio Spurs are currently at the forefront of the latest NBA trade rumors due to their willingness to entertain discussions centered around All-Star guard Dejounte Murray. 

Murray is coming off his first All-Star appearance with impressive averages of 21.1 points, 8.3 rebounds, 9.2 assists, and 2.0 steals. He's set to earn just under $16.6 million for 2022-23 in part of his four-year, $64 million contract that ends in 2024. He's an ideal trade target for many teams.

Not only have the Spurs reportedly been talking about trades involving Murray, a recent report from WSB-Ch. 2 Atlanta Sports Director Zach Klein suggests they are 'on the verge' of moving him to the Atlanta Hawks. Klein's report came after original reports by Bleacher Report of these talks.  

In talking with multiple sources around the NBA, many believe Hawks on verge of trading for San Antonio's All-Star guard Dejounte Murray - However, it's looking like John Collins is not part of deal. Would be Gallo & multiple 1st round picks. Spurs prepping for future & '23 draft

— Zach Klein (@ZachKleinWSB) June 27, 2022

During a conversation with "The Blitz with Jason Minnix and Joe Reinagel" on 94.1 AM San Antonio Sports Star, Klein stated: "If Pop wants this deal to go down, it goes down."

For starters, the expectation remains that Popovich will be coaching in 2022-23 considering he was the one making calls to draft picks. It was reported by Marc Stein that Popovich could return for "at least one more season" but a formal announcement hasn't been made.

Assuming Popovich returns, why would he want to trade the only All-Star on the Spurs' roster? The path they'd be taking as an organization would be a full rebuild ahead of what is considered as being a loaded 2023 NBA Draft class. It would have to be for the betterment of the organization.

"It's just whether or not Pop wants to go full-blown rebuild-mode," Klein said. 

Many have questioned the ceiling of this Spurs team given Murray is their best player and his offensive skill-set poses limitations as a top option. By capitalizing on his value now, they wouldn't need to worry about losing him in free agency after the final two years of his contract play out. 

The Spurs have used recent lottery picks on players who could take on expanded roles in the event they were to go all-in on a rebuild, including names like Devin Vassell, Joshua Primo, and Jeremy Sochan. By pursuing a trade package involving Danilo Gallinari instead of John Collins, San Antonio would be fully leaning into the rebuild.

San Antonio could look to move some of their veteran role players to add more assets. Some of the top options in such a deal could include Jakob Poeltl, Josh Richardson, and Doug McDermott. Each player can help a contender who misses out on their top free agent targets.

It just remains to be seen if the Spurs will look to take such a route when considering Gregg Popovich could return for what has been speculated as. possibly the final season of his illustrious NBA coaching career.

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You can follow Grant Afseth on Twitter at @GrantAfseth.

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