Atlanta Hawks guard Dejounte Murray was seemingly on the trade block earlier in the offseason. Coming off a down 2022-23 season, Atlanta found itself in cost-cutting mode by trading John Collins in a salary dump. At that point, Murray was set to be the next big-name player sent packing after just one season in Atlanta.
That’s now not going to be the case. According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, the Hawks are finalizing a four-year, $120 million max-level contract with Murray. Per Murray’s agent, Rich Paul, the deal comes with a fourth-year player option.
Rather than trading Murray for pennies on the dollar, this made perfect sense for the Hawks. Atlanta acquired the 26-year-old guard in a trade with the San Antonio Spurs last summer, exhausting three first-round picks in the process.
- Dejounte Murray stats (2022-23): 20.5 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 6.1 APG, 46% shooting
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As you can see, Murray played well in his first season with the Atlanta Hawks. This came after an All-Star appearance in his final campaign in San Antonio.
Despite Murray’s individual success teaming up with Trae Young in Atlanta’s backcourt, the team finished with a mere 41-41 record. It then lost to the Boston Celtics in the first round of the 2023 NBA Playoffs.
Even then, there was no real reason to move off Murray after the Hawks were able to rid themselves of Collins’ five-year, $125 million contract in a trade with the Utah Jazz.