Hawks Star Dejounte Murray Gets Real On The Shocking Details Behind His Trade From The Spurs
Hawks star Dejounte Murray is having another All-Star season. In 46 games with Atlanta, the young point guard is averaging 21.2 points, 6.1 assists, and 5.5 rebounds per game on 46.2% shooting.
While the Hawks have struggled to maintain consistency as a team, Murray has been one of the few reliable bright spots for them so far this season.
When you think about it, it really makes you wonder what happened in San Antonio. After being drafted by the Spurs 29th overall in 2016, he emerged as a legitimate star last season when he made the February club for the first time in his career.
Yet, it was only a few months later that he'd be reaching new heights with a completely different team. We will never know for sure what went wrong between Murray and the Spurs, he did recently open up about his time there in a chat with Andscape’s Marc J. Spears.
Dejounte Murray's Honest Answer On If He Wanted Out Of San Antonio
Murray has criticized the Spurs in the past, and some even claim they were holding him back from reaching his true potential. In the end, however, it's clear to see that the two parties were on very different sides.
“I wouldn’t say I wanted out. I wanted to be there my whole career. I love San Antonio,” Murray said. “[Popovich] brought it up. It was emotional. Obviously, there was some little trade rumors and stuff, but it didn’t get real to me and Pop. Pop would see stuff, trade interest in such and such or blah-blah or Spurs looking to trade this guy. Pop don’t get into that, no."
Amid trade rumors and questions about his loyalty to the team, Gregg Popovich just told Murray straight-up that he didn't want him to waste his talent.
“He wanted to hear it from me. ‘Would you want to be able to go play on a bigger stage? Do you want to stay, or you want to go?’ But he also gave his opinion on if I stay, he doesn’t want me to waste my talent, waste years of not making the playoffs. So, it really came down to that," said Murray.
Obviously, nobody knows for sure how things would have played out had Murray stayed with the Spurs, but it seems both sides are comfortable with where they're at.
In March, Murray will make his first return to San Antonio since the big trade, and it could be an emotional affair for everyone involved.
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