BREAKING: Hawks Will Keep Dejounte Murray, Will Not Trade Him at Deadline

After months of speculation, the Atlanta Hawks are opting to keep guard Dejounte Murray at the trade deadline according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

The Atlanta Hawks are keeping guard Dejounte Murray, sources tell ESPN. No trade for him.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 8, 2024

Murray had been in trade rumors for much of the season, but Atlanta is going to continue on their path with him in Atlanta and see if Murray and the Hawks can get the season turned around.

It is possible this gets revised in the summer and that the Hawks just did not have a good deal for Murray at the moment.

There were different times over the past couple of days when it seemed like a team such as the New Orleans Pelicans would be trying to make a move for Murray, but it did not transpire.

Today before the Chris Haynes report suggesting New Orleans was out of the Murray race, Hoopshype NBA insider Michael Scotto gave the latest intel he was hearing about a Murray trade and admitted that he thought the Hawks would keep Murray at the end of the day:

"Following the OG Anunoby and Pascal Siakam trades, many around the league believed the next big domino to fall would be Hawks guard Dejounte Murray.

Leading up to the trade deadline, the Los Angeles Lakers have been the top suitor for Murray, league sources told HoopsHype. However, talks involving D’Angelo Russell, Jalen Hood-Schifino and the Lakers’ 2029 first-round pick have stalled with Atlanta unwilling to take back Russell while prioritizing expiring contracts to avoid the luxury tax next season.

Elsewhere, the Brooklyn Nets and New York Knicks have both expressed interest in acquiring Murray, sources said, but for a lesser cost than what Atlanta wants.The Knicks have Evan Fournier’s expiring contract, a future first-round pick to dangle along with Quentin Grimes, a player coveted by the Hawks, league sources told HoopsHype. However, New York has been rolling since the acquisition of Anunoby and some within the organization question the fit of Murray next to Jalen Brunson.

The Nets can dangle Spencer Dinwiddie’s expiring contract and a future protected first-round pick. Despite Dinwiddie unlikely to return to Brooklyn next season, according to league sources, the Nets haven’t overwhelmingly made a strong push to land Murray. Despite some reported speculation, the Nets haven’t had substantive conversations with the Lakers and Hawks about joining as a third team to take on Russell’s contract, HoopsHype has learned. The New Orleans Pelicans have also become a dark horse player in the Murray sweepstakes and have expressed interest in the Hawks guard.

With less than 24 hours until the deadline, It remains to be seen if the Lakers can find that third team to take on Russell’s contract and facilitate a trade to land Murray. It’s also worth noting that Murray has a 15 percent trade kicker in his contract, which is unlikely to be waived to help facilitate a trade, HoopsHype has learned.

The theme with the teams most notably connected to Murray is that none have been able or willing to discuss more than one first-round pick while Atlanta is holding out for at least two first-round picks. Atlanta can wait until the offseason to move Murray while looking to duck the luxury tax for next season with the hope of a larger market developing. It’s a scenario rival executives believe is gaining more traction as the deadline nears."

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