Spurs reportedly interested in reunion with ex-All-Star

Feb 8, 2020; Sacramento, California, USA; San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich on the sideline against the Sacramento Kings during the first quarter at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

The San Antonio Spurs might just be bringing back their most recent All-Star to date.

In an appearance Tuesday on FanDuel TV’s “Run It Back,” Shams Charania of The Athletic reported that the Spurs have interest in a noteworthy name — Atlanta Hawks guard Dejounte Murray. Charania mentions that Murray, 27, is now eligible for trade after agreeing to a new four-year, $120 million contract extension with Atlanta over the summer.

The Spurs, who have a lot of room to absorb a big contract with the fifth-lowest payroll in the NBA this season, drafted Murray back in 2016 (No. 29 overall). Though Murray was a very raw prospect coming out of college, San Antonio helped develop him into an All-Defensive selection (by 2018) and then an NBA All-Star (by 2022). Murray did have some hard feelings when the Spurs traded him to the Hawks before the 2022-23 season. But Murray has spoken very highly of head coach Gregg Popovich since and might be more open to a reunion now that he has gotten his money (and since the Hawks have failed to meet expectations while Murray has been there).

San Antonio needs a point guard since the Jeremy Sochan experiment is failing and since Tre Jones is better in his current per-minute role off the bench. Murray, who averages 6.4 assists per game for his career, obviously wouldn’t be a savior for the 5-30 Spurs. But he could be a substantive floor-raiser and is still young enough to serve as a building block too. On top of that, there are signs that Atlanta is making Murray very available for trade.