'Bigger Than Basketball': Dejounte Murray Reveals His Harsh Spurs Truth
The reality of Dejounte Murray's departure from the San Antonio Spurs has set in - for the most part - since the team agreed to trade him to the Atlanta Hawks nearly three weeks ago on June 29. The franchise has officially shifted its focus elsewhere.
Spurs fans got the chance to watch two of the three newest rookies compete at the Vegas Summer League despite the team finishing with a 1-4 record. Late Friday night, Keldon Johnson inked a four-year, $80 million extension that showed a clear intent by the front office on who they plan to build around amidst a rebuild.
But Murray's exit, one that left Spurs fans with mixed emotions, was ultimately the first of many steps by the team to ignite a complete overhaul and prep for the future. Regardless of Murray's potential intent to sign an extension or not, the move was one general manager Brian Wright and Co. made with the Spurs' best interest at heart in a league where player-fan attachments can often cloud the reality of the business.
And with some fans' emotions still running high, it was everything but business Monday. After receiving some banter Friday from a fan in the comment section on a two-week old Spurs farewell post on Instagram that Murray harmlessly interacted with, the real juice started to seep out.
On Monday, after a fan commented "fly little birdy ... Good luck getting to the second round," Murray responded with a statement that will likely stick with Spurs fans for the rest of next season - and for some - in the years to come.
"The way that system set up you gone be losing for the next 15 years!" Murray wrote. "Problem bigger than basketball."
Instagram - @dejountemurray
Shortly after his comment left everything on the table, Murray clarified, despite receiving the usual criticisms NBA players often get on the toxic world of social media, that his love for Spurs fans runs deep. But he doubled down that the organization has issues at its core.
"You have no clue how deeply I love the fans and will do whatever for the real fans ... Me saying what I said had nothing to do with the fans! All that inside s*** fake though! (For real, for real)," Murray wrote.
Instagram - @dejountemurray
Despite his comments toward what seems to be the Spurs' executives, Murray neither publicly requested a trade or openly admitted lack of interest in signing an extension. The latter, though unconfirmed, remains a likely reason why San Antonio shipped Murray away following the best season of his career with a journey into unrestricted free agency looming for him next summer.
It might never become clear why Murray’s harsh feelings toward the organization became apparent. He admitted during his introductory press conference in Atlanta his longing desire to play with All-Star guard Trae Young, as the Spurs shipped him to a contender that he was happy with.
Murray also gave the professional response when asked about being traded from a team he'd spent the past six seasons with. No love lost, right?
"They didn't want to see me waste years rebuilding and stuff,” he said. "They want to see me win and the best for Dejounte, and I thank them for that a lot. That's what makes our relationship special and family forever."
While there was never any consensus doubt about his original and heartfelt remarks toward the Spurs, his recent social media comments prove otherwise, including a now deleted tweet that shows Murray saying he now feels "wanted” and is “happy.”
Murray's feelings about the Spurs' front office became permanent for the fans to see as soon as he hit the send button. With no such thing as deletion at this point, don't be surprised to see reporters hit him with the questions next season about what he meant by his commenting spree.
And congrats in advance to those reporters who get any semblance of an answer from Murray that uncovers the truth on what is now a controversial topic.
You can follow Zach Dimmitt on Twitter at @ZachDimmitt7
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