Woj: Dejounte Murray Traded to Hawks from Spurs for Danilo Gallinari, Multiple 1sts

According to reports, the San Antonio Spurs agreed to trade guard Dejounte Murray to the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for forward Danilo Gallinari and three first-round picks.

Zach Lowe @ZachLowe_NBA

The 2025 and 2027 first-rounders are unprotected ATL first-round picks, per league source. https://t.co/6M1PAaCfQ8

Zach Lowe @ZachLowe_NBA

Teams are very, very hesitant to do this. They often fight for even top-1 protection. The CHA pick is middling/lotto-protected, but the rest is about as much draft equity (maybe more) as SAS could have ever anticipated getting. Even pushing to 2025/27 (and not 2023/2025) matters https://t.co/J5eRNuCadu

Adrian said the news. The Hawks were one of several teams that were talking to the Spurs about a trade for Murray.

There have been rumors about Murray's status with the Spurs for a long time. The All-star guard acknowledged the rumors on social media.

The motivation to move Murray seems odd. He had a career-best season last year, with averages of 21.0 points, 9.2 assists, 8.3 rebound and 2.0 steals.

Murray will make $34.2 million over the next two seasons under a team friendly deal with the Spurs.

Murray doesn't turn 26 until September and will be well within his prime when the Spurs plan on competing again.

One of the most promising prospects in recent memory is forward Victor Wembanyama, who will be included in the NBA draft in 2020. It is possible that the Spurs are too good with Murray to have a chance at landing a top-two pick.

The fact that the Spurs were in this situation calls into question their team-building strategy. When Kawhi Leonard asked for a trade, there were calls for the franchise to rebuild. Instead of taking a package of picks and young players, the Spurs chose a package highlighted by DeMar DeRozan, who allowed the team to remain competitive but stuck in the purgatory of mediocre.

The Spurs failed to make the playoffs in each of the last three seasons, despite making the playoffs in the first year of their existence. If the Spurs had chosen the correct path four years ago, they wouldn't have needed to trade Murray.

The question is whether Popovich has the stomach for a rebuild that will take him into his late 70s.

This is a no-doubt choice for the Hawks. Two of the team's biggest needs are perimeter defense and a ball-handler who can help Trae Young. The Charlotte first-round pick is protected picks 1-16 next season and lottery-protected through 2025.

The two Hawks' first-round picks project out of the lottery for the foreseeable future, barring a series of injuries or a fall out with Young.

Atlanta gave up three picks that were in the late teens to mid-20s and a veteran expiring contract for a 25-year-old All- Star. It's a long shot.