Atlanta Hawks outbid Western Conference rival for 25-year-old steals champ
The Atlanta Hawks followed through on the mission to bring changes to the roster. While it might not amount to wholesale changes (yet), the facelift they have undergone has been significant. That much was to be expected following an inconsistent regular season and disappointing exit from the playoffs.
They swung a blockbuster trade for San Antonio Spurs guard Dejounte Murray and, later, sent wing Kevin Huerter to the Sacramento Kings to recoup a first-round draft pick. They also took A.J. Griffin with the 16th overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft.
Still, it was the acquisition of Murray that may have the farthest-reaching effect, and we have already seen the first major domino in its wake.
Surprisingly, it involves another major target the Hawks were linked to this offseason.
The Atlanta Hawks trading for Dejounte Murray potentially impacted separate blockbuster deal
Per Darren “Doogie” Wolfson of “The Scoop w/ Doogie”, the Minnesota Timberwolves were also interested in Murray before they swung the trade to land Gobert. Minnesota sent a package of five players, four draft picks, and one pick swap for the three-time All-Star to whom the Hawks had been linked.
Instead, they decided to send a rather sizable haul of their own to the Spurs for Murray that included just one outgoing player in Danilo Gallinari. But it also had three first-rounder plus a pick swap.
The kicker is none of the selections are protected which could get dicey since they do not begin sending their own picks until the 2025 draft.
As this offseason proved, a lot can change by then.
Wolfson says that the price tag on the one-time All-Star was too rich for the Timberwolves.
“The Wolves spoke with the Spurs a number of times about Dejounte Murray, he has a number of fans here. The Wolves were very, very interested in bringing Dejounte Murray to Minnesota, just not at the price that Atlanta paid.”
Utah preferred the intrigue of pairing Gobert along with Karl-Anthony Towns – another former rumored Hawks target.
Hawks had eyes on $194M superstar before blockbuster trade. light. Related Story
Still, it does go to show just how far the Hawks were willing to go to get this deal done.
It has also been revealed that Murray and Trae Young discussed the possibility several weeks ago. Now, we also know that the Hawks beat the Timberwolves to the punch on a priority target, even if it was just because they were more aggressive.
“He was not the guy they were willing to go ‘all-in’ on. But make no mistake…Dejounte Murray is very, very, very much liked slash loved in Minnesota. Good addition by Atlanta.”
It is hard to imagine the Wolves would have had enough assets to pull off both moves given all that have changed hands between the transactions.
We will have to wait until the season begins to see if either of the Hawks, Jazz, Spurs, or Wolves did the right thing. But it is good to know that they were not bidding against themselves for Murray, the 2022 regular-season steals champ.
dark. Next. Hawks fans react to blockbuster trade for All-Star Dejounte Murray
What is clear is that the Hawks were not going to be deterred with the front office locked in on their top target to help get this team back to the Eastern Conference Finals and beyond.