Grading Spurs-Hawks deal centered around Dejounte Murray

After over a week of speculation, Dejounte Murray is indeed heading to the ‘A’. The San Antonio Spurs officially traded the All-Star guard to the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday, getting back a package that includes veteran forward Danillo Gallinari and a handful of future first-round draft picks.

Atlanta Hawks: A-

This is a blockbuster move for the Hawks as they’ve acquired a 25-year-old All-Star guard entering his prime and will have him under contract for the next two season. As a rising team in the Eastern conference, the franchise had reached a point where they needed to upgrade the supporting cast around Trae Young and now he’ll be sharing a backcourt with a versatile playmaker who was a triple-double machine last season.

They’re giving up a hefty haul of future first-round picks but as long as they continue to reach the playoffs in the near future, it won’t matter. This move raises their ceiling a little bit higher in an increasingly competitive east.

San Antonio Spurs: B

Trading away a 25-year-old All-Star with multiple years left on his contract is never a move that will make your team better. However, the Spurs are signaling with this move that the Gregg Popovich era is at its end and the sooner you can jump into a full blown rebuild, the better.

San Antonio will have the services of Gallinari for one year before he becomes a free agent next summer, so that’s an easy contract you can get off the books fast. And while potential mid-round picks by the Hawks may not be sexy at first glance, that’s still draft assets they’ll have on hand down the road.