The San Antonio Spurs might be bringing back their most recent All-Star to date.
In an appearance Tuesday on FanDuel TV’s “Run It Back,” Shams Charania of The Athletic reported that the Spurs have interest in a noteworthy name — Atlanta Hawks guard Dejounte Murray. Charania mentions that Murray, 27, is now eligible for trade after agreeing to a new four-year, $120 million contract extension with Atlanta last summer.
The Spurs, who have a lot of room to absorb a big contract with the fifth-lowest payroll in the NBA this season, drafted Murray 29th overall in the 2016 draft. Though Murray was a raw prospect coming out of college, San Antonio helped develop him into a 2018 All-Defensive selection and a 2022 All-Star. Murray did have some hard feelings when the Spurs traded him to the Hawks before the 2022-23 season, but he spoke highly of head coach Gregg Popovich and might be more open to a reunion now that he has gotten his money. Plus, Atlanta hasn't exactly met expectations since acquiring him.
San Antonio needs a point guard since the Jeremy Sochan experiment is failing and Tre Jones is better in his current per-minute role off the bench. Murray, who averages 6.4 assists per game for his career, obviously wouldn’t be a savior for the 5-30 Spurs. But he could be a substantive floor-raiser and is still young enough to serve as a building block too. On top of that, Atlanta is reportedly "open for business" and making Murray available for trade.
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