As the Dejounte Murray trade rumors continue to swirl around the Atlanta Hawks it seems that a new development has come along. 48 hours ago it seemed as if the San Antonio Spurs asking price was clear, John Collins and three first round picks for All-Star guard Dejounte Murray.
However, now it seems like the Spurs may be fully embracing a rebuild in San Antonio as WSBTV Sports Director Zach Klein and Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer are both reporting that the Spurs perhaps covet Danilo Gallinari’s expiring contract and more draft picks rather than a young power forward that could be one of their foundational pieces in John Collins.
If it does turn out that Dejounte Murray costs the Hawks Danilo Gallinari, future draft picks, and not John Collins, does this mean the Atlanta Hawks would consider keeping John Collins, or does it just mean that another trade would be on the horizon? Chris Goforth discussed the topic Tuesday night as he was filling in on The Jon Chuckery Show.
If the Dejounte Murray trade does happen Chris believes there will be a second move whether it involves John Collins or not saying “There is a second move coming I think either way.” Chris continues by opening up the possibility that this Dejounte Murray trade could end up being a three team trade involving John Collins saying “This could end being a three team trade where Collins goes to a team, that team sends draft picks, and the Hawks send draft picks to San Antonio to kind of help facilitate this thing.”
John Collins is a professional, and at the end of the day he knows this is a business, but everybody has their limit. It seems like John Collins has had his name in a multitude of trade rumors and reports for almost two years straight. Chris talks about how tough and unlikely it will be for the Hawks to keep John Collins after all of that saying “I just don’t see a way that John Collins is still here say by the middle of July. I don’t see how you can dangle this guy out there now for two seasons in a row and think you can just bring him back.”
Chris also made a good point regarding the Hawks salary cap space saying “Even if you make the move for Dejounte Murray you still can’t bring everybody back because once you make that move you basically got ten guys on the roster and you’re in the luxury tax at that point so I think trading for Murray isn’t going to be the only move that the Hawks have to make.”
A big domino and a big answer could all come tomorrow as the Hawks will have to make a decision on Danilo Gallinari by Wednesday, June 29th. If Gallinari is still on the Hawks roster on June 30th then he will be owed the full $21.5 million dollars remaining on the final year of his contract, but if Gallinari is waived the Hawks will only owe the veteran power forward $5 million.
All of that means that if the Hawks don’t do anything with Gallinari before June 30th they could be intentionally letting his salary go up, so they can have an easier time matching salaries with Dejounte Murray who will have a $16.5 million dollar cap hit this season, and that could also mean that John Collins might be involved in a later move down the road. If Gallinari is waived on Wednesday then it might be safe to assume John Collins may be a part of a potential Dejounte Murray trade.
When it comes to a potential Dejounte Murray trade I think it’s safe to say we aren’t really sure what’s going to happen, but I think it’s also safe to say that a big move is coming, and it could be less than 24 hours away.