According to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report, the Spurs and Hawks are still in talks about a potential deal that would send All-Star guard Dejounte Murray to Atlanta (Twitter link).
San Antonio and Atlanta were reportedly talking about Murray before last week’s draft, and it appears those discussions continued after the draft.
While Zach Klein of WSB-TV in Atlanta tweets that some sources around the NBA believe the Hawks are working on a Murray deal that would instead involve Danilo Gallinari and several first-round picks, Fischer’s initial reporting suggested that the two teams were discussing a package that would include John Collins. Fischer adds that he has heard those similar whispers (through Twitter).
Gallinari is on an expiring partially guaranteed contract and will be off the books after the 2022–2023 season, while Collins is under contract for four more seasons at a rate of $25MM annually. If the Spurs are more concerned with the future than the present, they might value cap flexibility and the chance to accumulate draft picks more than a player who can help them win now, such as Collins.
For what it’s worth, a deal that excludes Collins and focuses primarily on draft selections would be more in line with the “Jrue Holiday-like” return that Fischer claimed the Spurs were looking for last week. In that Holiday trade, Milwaukee sent the Pelicans three first-round picks as well as two first-round pick swaps.
