Eager to obtain satisfactory trade compensation, teams can sometimes be a little too greedy. The Spurs also seem to be taking this path concerning an All-Star in their workforce… unless this is precisely the purpose of the maneuver?
In order to raise the stakes, some franchises rarely hesitate to demand extremely high compensation from the competition. The strategy is simple: observe the reactions of the opposing leaders, in order to determine which of them might constitute the best trading partners. This approach has once once more been adopted recently and not by just anyone, since we are talking regarding San Antonio.
The Texans, whose coach Gregg Popovich should retire, also sees its main player being very courted on the market at the moment: Dejounte Murray. Selected for the All-Star Game for the first time in his career in 2021-22, the leader has enormous talent and that inevitably intrigues people. Except that to get it, Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report revealed that he was going to have to get his hands on the wallet:
Spurs want three first rounds for Dejounte Murray
REPORT: The Spurs would want three first-round picks in return for Dejounte Murray.
(via @JakeLFischer, https://t.co/EFMELbIhpT) pic.twitter.com/QwiFqhejfz
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) June 25, 2022
They have told several teams I have spoken to who have called them that the price is a similar deal to the one around Jrue Holiday. Three first-round picks seem to be the benchmark.
One thing is certain, the Spurs are not at all willing to sell off their best athlete. Insofar as this one had to set sail, the idea would therefore be to recover a maximum of assets for the draft. Not uninteresting for them, when we know their talent in this field for more than two decades, building their dynasty from that. On the other hand, it may also mean that they set the bar as high as possible in order to scare off the competition, not wanting to part ways with Murray.
After all, we are talking regarding one of the most versatile guards in the league, he who averaged more than 21 points, 8 rebounds, 9 assists and two steals this year. An ultra-heavy line of stats that ignites fans, especially since he seems to have recovered well from his cruciate ligament rupture in 2018 since he only misses a few games. Some would particularly like to see him at the Lakers, offering a deal including Kendrick Nunn, Talen Horton-Tucker and two draft picks. Not sure if this is enough though:
I think a fair trade pic.twitter.com/e9NrVaPKes
— Mamba#out (@Kobe_barca) June 25, 2022
San Antonio knows the value of Dejounte Murray on the market and intends to exploit it to the maximum, if he were to leave. Otherwise, the Texans can always count on him to try to lead his team to the top once more.
