Dejounte Murray offers strong reaction to latest Hawks trade rumor

Atlanta Hawks star Dejounte Murray did not hold back in his reaction to the latest rumors circulating about the team’s trade talks at the deadline.

Murray has been a central figure in such rumors and has mostly brushed aside the chatter unless directly asked his thoughts. And even then, he chose to sidestep questions and focus on the season.

Perhaps freed without games to offer a distraction, Murray had time for this budding speculation.

“I will tell you that there was some talk about Dejounte Murray to the Jazz at the trade deadline,” KSL Sports’ Ben Anderson said on the “Jazz Notes” podcast on May 22. “It was going to cost the Jazz Keyonte George and the Jazz said, ‘no.’”

“Don’t BELIEVE EVERYTHING You See On This Dumb A** INTERNET!!!!!” Murray posted in reaction to seeing the rumor on X on May 23.

George was the No. 16 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft.

The Hawks selected Kobe Bufkin with pick No. 15, meaning they passed on George once and could have been trying to double back after his impressive rookie season. George averaged 13.0 points, 4.4 assists, and 2.8 rebounds en route to Second Team All-Rookie honors.

However, the Hawks are high on Bufkin. His season was interrupted by injuries but he still flashed the two-way ability that drew them to him in the first place.

There is no way to know how advanced the Hawks’ talks with the Jazz were.

The Hawks also held talks with the Toronto Raptors before the trade deadline, but Murray was opposed to the move, per Raptor’s Republic’s Samson Folk in January. This offseason, teams like the Los Angeles Lakers and New Orleans Pelicans are expected to show interest.

Murray averaged a career-high 22.5 points this past season, shooting 36.4% on a career-high 7.1 attempts per game, and had a strong stretch as a distributor when Trae Young was injured.

He is set to begin a four-year, $114 million contract extension next season.

Dejounte Murray dismisses Hawks trade rumors

“People are going to do all the stuff they do on the internet,” Murray said on the “From The Point” podcast on April 8. “They have to do that. They can't say just good because the bad stuff sells. The bad stuff that make any of us go read. Not too many people want to read, ‘Oh, this is the good thing that was put out.’ The negativity is the stuff that sells. 

“When I see just all the BS trade this guy or trade that guy, it means nothing. It's somebody behind their computer. They could be at Starbucks right now or they could be in a classroom, wherever they're at.”

He drove his point home.

“I'm not the GM. He's not the GM. I'm not the coach. He's not the coach,” Murray said. “That stuff mean nothing.”

Hawks general manager Landry Fields said the front office will explore why the Murray-Young pairing hasn’t worked as expected. But he also said they will explore the lineups featuring the duo that did work and see if there are paths to build on those.