Insider offers updated asking price, Dejounte Murray's preference amid Hawks trade rumors

The Atlanta Hawks (15-23) aren’t worrying about trade rumors, they won’t let themselves.

Players and even head coach Quin Snyder have actively avoided going into any type of detail about the ongoing chatter around the team. But that has not stopped them, particularly when it comes to Dejounte Murray.

“From people I’ve spoken with, the Hawks are asking for two firsts in return for Murray, who would prefer to join a team with a chance to make an immediate playoff run,” The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor wrote on January 15. “So far, no one has met their demands.”

First, the asking price O’Connor is reporting is similar to what has previously been reported.

LA Times reporter Dan Woike reported that the Hawks sought a first-round pick and Immanuel Quickley from the New York Knicks for Murray.

The Knicks sent Quickley to the Toronto Raptors in a package for OG Anunoby. Murray has also been linked to a package for Raptors star Pascal Siakam, with Toronto said to also hold interest in D’Andre Hunter.

As a reminder, the Hawks sent three picks to the San Antonio Spurs -- two of which were their own and unprotected -- for Murray ahead of last season.

Hunter and Clint Capela lead the way for other Hawks in terms of trade rumors this season.

The Hawks are 15-23, and are on track to miss the Play-In Tournament despite coming in with fairly lofty expectations set by Murray and Young.

Dejounte Murray’s wishes factoring into Hawks’ trade plans?

O’Connor’s note about Murray’s preference also lines up with multiple reports, first that the one-time All-Star signed his four-year, $114 million contract extension in part to avoid being sent to Toronto.

But also that despite interest from the other side, Murray isn’t too keen on a return to the Spurs, with whom he earned his first All-Star nod and led the NBA in steals per game in 2021-22.

Murray has not asked for a trade or even addressed trade rumors aside from declining to.

Murray set a tone for the season, saying that the Play-In was an unacceptable result.

In his second season with the Hawks, he is tying his career-highs in points per game and three-point efficiency, while setting a new personal best true shooting clip entering play on January 15.

ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported that the Hawks and Los Angeles Lakers were expected to re-ignite trade talks around Murray, who shares representation with LeBron James and Anthony Davis, just as Trae Young does.

Windhorst also named the Brooklyn Nets as a team to watch in the Murray sweepstakes.

The rise in trade chatter around Murray and the Hawks in general was expected with several players around the league becoming trade-eligible.

For the Hawks and Lakers, that means Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura. The Lakers are against trading Reaves, though, and Hachimura’s inclusion is largely for salary-matching purposes.

Will there be a surprise suitor that swoops in and meets the Hawks’ asking price?

Or, will they do as has also been reported and carry this into the offseason? They may have more options then despite Murray’s extension kicking in.