Appearing on NBA Today on Friday, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the Hawks are ready to deal former All-Star guard Dejounte Murray (Twitter link).
“Atlanta is ready to trade Dejounte Murray,” Wojnarowski said. “They have given some time to the Trae Young/Dejounte Murray backcourt; I think they’re ready to move on from it.
“Dejounte Murray is the player that they’re engaged around the league with. And they’ve talked to the Lakers, they’ve exchanged some ideas on a potential trade. But they’re engaged with a lot of teams.
“They gave up a lot for Dejounte Murray: two of their own first-round picks, a pick swap, and a third first-round pick that they had control of. They want to get some value back for him.
“So you look at that Lakers roster, and you see what of value do they have that can compete in the marketplace? I think there’s lots of teams interested in him, the question is, how much are they willing to give up for Murray?”
Wojnarowski went on to explain that since the trade deadline is still about a month away, the Hawks may not be getting top offers yet. The Lakers will likely remain in the hunt for Murray, according to Wojnarowski, who concluded by saying, “I do think the chances of him being moved before the deadline are very, very high.”
Murray makes $18.2MM in 2023/24, which is the final season of his rookie scale extension. He signed a four-year, $111MM+ veteran contract extension in the summer (it starts next season), which is viewed as fairly team-friendly.
Murray was first mentioned as a possible trade candidate this season a few weeks ago, when he was linked to the Knicks. Subsequent reports from multiple outlets have linked him to various teams, with Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports reporting on Thursday that Murray is looking like the most likely All-Star-caliber player to be moved prior to the deadline.
Wojnarowski has been reporting for a while that the Hawks are “absolutely open for business,” particularly on Murray, so his latest update isn’t exactly surprising. Still, the fact that he was so confident about the odds of a trade makes it seem as though it’s only matter of when, not if at this point.