Spurs fans share instant trade grades for Dejounte blockbuster

A Grade - 14 votes (22.5%)

Tied for second place was the highest possible grade, an A. Almost everyone that commented with their reasoning expressed how tough it was to let Dejounte go, but they were able to see what the Spurs' future plans are after sitting with their thoughts for a while.

"They had a high price over Dejounte and got what they wanted, even more than what we expected, I think," said Seth Martinez. "Four picks with two that are unprotected is outstanding. I love DJ, but at the end of the day, the NBA is a business."

Jakob Nordstrom also expressed why fans should be happy that the team finally chose a direction. "The Spurs needed to pick a direction for the future and they have done so," he said. "Most fans can act like there were two options, but trying to capitalize on a roster with a much lower ceiling than contention just wasn't cutting it. I love Dejounte so much, and most fans do too, but a chance at a top-three pick with the current roster means a significantly higher ceiling akin to actual title contention."

B Grade - 23 votes (37%)

Most people surveyed leaned toward this trade being good but not great. Our own Roberto Araiza had plenty to say about this deal, so I'm giving him the keyboard:

"Generally speaking, this was probably the best time to trade Murray. He's healthy, consistently getting better every year, and is coming off of his best season. All it would have taken is one injury or over-priced future contract to diminish a lot of that value he currently has.

Looking at this trade specifically, I don't think the package could have gotten much better than this. While there’s certainly something to be said for acquiring a promising young player, there’s also good reason to believe that the Spurs can find their version of Onyeka Okongwu, for example, in the draft. The impact of a pick won’t be felt as quickly as the addition of a young player, but the value of a 1st round pick—particularly those that are unprotected—shouldn’t go overlooked.

Charlotte's 2023 pick (assuming it conveys) will be very valuable even later in the 1st round given the immense depth of next year's draft class. Then looking at the Hawks' future 1st round picks and pick swap, all it would take is an injury, a cornerstone player demanding a trade, or an increasingly competitive Eastern Conference for those picks to become much more valuable than they may seem right now.

There are *plenty* of ways this trade could go completely upside-down for the Hawks in the next few years and it’s wrong to automatically assume that they won’t end up in or around the lottery at some point in the next several seasons. And even if they are outside of the lottery, have we all collectively forgotten that Dejounte Murray was a 29th overall pick? Brian Wright’s drafts so far have been successful, and I don’t have much reason to believe they won’t be successful in the future no matter the draft position."

Somya Bahadur had similar thoughts. "As much as I love Dejounte, he was always going to be a Robin rather than a Batman," he started. "So I can't see him getting paid a max contract by the front office and could see the possibility of him leaving in free agency.

I can see further moves to see where Spurs actually get. This B- can be a A+ if assets are used right. If not and they get a few more late lottery picks, then this can slip down to see C."

I'm inclined to agree with the majority here and go with a B-. It's tough to swallow and I still think it could backfire, but the important thing the front office did is finally steer the ship away from Mediocre Island. Will it be hard to watch for a while? Almost assuredly. But in the end, it's all about winning more titles -- and the Spurs have to start somewhere.