At 6/30 Taiwan time, the San Antonio Spurs and the Atlanta Hawks reached an agreement. The Spurs sent star guard Dejounte Murray in exchange for forward Danilo Gallinari and multiple future first-round draft picks. The detailed package is as follows:
Spurs send
Dejounte Murray
sent by the eagle
Danilo Gallinari
2023 first round (Hornets), 2025 first round, 2027 first round, 2026 first round swap rights
The 25-year-old Murray was selected by the Spurs with the 29th pick in the first round of the 2016 draft, and has made steady progress every year since then.21.1 points, 8.3 rebounds, 9.2 assists, 2 stealswas selected to the All-Star Game for the first time in the sixth season of his career.
Led by Murray, with a vote of Mesozoic players such as Johnson, Poeltl and Vassell, plus Sochan, Branham and Wesley, who were recruited in this year’s draft, and Josh Primo, who was drafted in last year, the Spurs have formed an offensive and defensive team. , under the watchful eye of Gregg Popovich, one can’t help but imagine a team that is both competitive and futuristic.
But that reverie soon changed following days of rumored deals.There have been reports that the Knicks, Timberwolves and Hawks are interested in trading for Dejounte Murray, with the Hawks being the mostActively strive for the joining of Murray,The plan is to use the main package of forward John Collins to exchange the Spurs for Murray, who has just played his career year; while the Spurs require at least the package of the Jrue Holiday trade case (2 first round + 2 swap rights), and finally Also got your wish.
Emotionally, for Spurs fans who have watched him go from replacing Tony Parker as a starter to becoming an All-Star, the departure of Murray must have been quite sad and unacceptable. But in addition, there are also many questions and doubts.Why trade for Dejounte Murray?Are the Spurs going to rot next season?Why now?Will there be follow-up deals?
In the form of answering questions, I will try to briefly analyze the motivation and logic behind this transaction with my own point of view:
Why trade away Dejounte Murray?
After DeMar DeRozan left last season, Dejounte Murray has naturally become the team’s main offense and his first season as the core of the team. Although the explosion of personal data brought the team into the play-offs without being optimistic, there were also many urgent problems, whether it was Murray himself or the Spurs.
With Derrick White gone, and without a backcourt partner who can help with ball handling and control, Murray has taken on more offensive responsibilities, but has also highlighted the problem of not being quick enough to play the ball in the face of double-teaming or flanking. , while holding too much the ball in his hands, also seems to be slightly out of tune with Johnson, Vassell and Primo, who have improved significantly in the second half of the season and are good at off the ball.
Although he has stable mid-range and small throws, and his passing judgment has improved significantly, Murray’s explosiveness has not been as good as before following the major injury. In addition, he has never been able to practice stable three-pointers, which limits his upper limit. Murray can defend well, take charge of the court, tear up defenses and launch fast breaks, but it is not the material that can be built around him and become the cornerstone of the team. Looking at it all season,Murray is at best a second-best player on the team.
It is confirmed that Murray will not be the cornerstone of the team’s team building. With the four-year, 64 million high CP value contract signed in 2019 and two years of control, actively peddling while the value is still at a high point. For the Spurs who are determined to break through and officially enter the rebuilding team, this is a very reasonable operation.
Why now?
Compared with Win Now, the Spurs are more players who need at least 2-3 years to develop. Although he is only 26 years old now, Murray, who has already made a fortune this season, obviously does not fit the timeline of many young players in the team:
Keldon Johnson、Tre Jones（22歲）
Devin Vassell (21)
Josh Primo 、 Jeremy Sochan 、 Malaki Branham 、 Blake Wesley （19
When the Murray trade rumors spread, there were also some people who didn’t believe the Spurs would send Murray away this offseason (including me), the main reason being that they didn’t feel that the 73-year-old Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich will still have the time and patience to help the team rebuild.
But Pop aside, next season will be a pretty good start to the rebuild. The 2023 No. 1 pick Victor Wembanyama has shown potential as the cornerstone of the team’s team building. If he can successfully become the No. 1 pick next season and welcome the 7-foot-3 French tower, the road to reconstruction will be much faster in an instant.
In addition, the powerhouses in the Western Conference have also strengthened this offseason, including the Blazers who introduced Grant, the Mavericks who added Wood, the Clippers who added Wall, and Zion of Kawhi, George and the Pelicans are regarding to return. There will definitely be more reinforcement news following the free market opens. More and more teams continue to grow their own troops. These are definitely a big plus for the Spurs who want to fight for the champion.
Will there be follow-up deals?
I believe this is for sure.Even the first brother of the team can be sent away, and there is no one in the Spurs team that cannot be discussed.
Jakob Poeltl, whose annual salary is only 9.3 million and whose contract is due, may also become the next target of the Spurs, but considering his importance and irreplaceability in the Spurs, I don’t think the Spurs will be in the offseason. Send him away, but with Josh Richardson, who is also on an expiring contract, and Doug McDermott, who has a two-year contract on his body. In contrast, there is a very high probability that he will wear another team’s jersey before the season starts. Let’s wait until the free market opens to see what’s next.
Who will be the Spurs’ starting point guard next season?
Of course, I can’t rule out using a short-term contract to find it in the free market or to be topped by Tre Jones in the team, but I personally like to see it byPrimo directly fills the vacancy in the first position.Primo has better shooting potential than Murray, whether it’s paired with Poeltl’s pick-and-roll, high post or the Spurs’ Motion play, plus the previous season showed some excellent passing judgment and sense of space on the court. He has the potential to transform into a No. 1 position. Of course, his confrontation and projection must be strengthened.But it does not rule out the possibility that Primo will go straight to the start of the season.
I was quite stunned when this deal happened, except that I didn’t believe that Pop would nod to the deal, and Murray, a possible final disciple who had been cultivated along the way, officially entered the rebuilding process.Also because Murray is a player I quite like。
Watch him go from being drafted in, knocking out Tony Parker to start, making Defensive Team of the Year, coming back from a major injury, growing under the wings of LaMarcus Aldridge and DeMar DeRozan, to being a star on his own .Murray always showed a fighting spirit that didn’t admit defeat and wanted to prove it to others, and constantly improve yourself through training. Murray never showed any dissatisfaction with the team or wanted to leave. Instead, he chose to stay in the team and continue to struggle during the low tide of the team. When he lost, he took all the responsibilities on his shoulders and used failure as his motivation. Vows to lead teammates to be a better team.
Thank you Murray for his contribution to the Spurs over the past six years. I wish you a taste of the championship following leaving, and come back to lead these children following becoming a free agent.
Further reading
Was it wrong to get into Walker? Looking back at the 2018 draft, did the Spurs have a better option?
I’m going to play the All-Star Game someday! Spurs New Big Three Machine: Dejounte Murray
All for victory! Spurs ZTE young owner Dejounte Murray
