Camden wrote:Shams Charania:
Sources: The Spurs are trading Dejounte Murray to Atlanta for Danilo Gallinari, three first-round draft picks and a draft swap.
Good deal for San Antonio, in my opinion. Three first-round picks is a haul and they took back an expiring deal so no harm is done to their future payroll. I truly think this was selling high for the Spurs while Dejounte Murray had two years left on his current deal.
And it makes sense for Atlanta. Both can be true. They needed another guard that could take pressure off of Trae Young. They also really need Murray's perimeter defense. They certainly paid more than I would have for him, but I can understand why they made the move they did.
This deal tells us something about what Connelly is and isn't willing to do. Specifically, this tells me he's not willing to give up three future 1st-round picks - at least not without heavy protections. Otherwise, the Wolves clearly could have gotten Murray by offering DLO, Naz and three future 1st-round picks. DLO is a better player than Gallo and he has the same value as an expiring contract. Naz would be a small net plus for the Spurs who would fit their rebuild mode. It's clear that Connelly wasn't willing to meet the Spurs' bottom line requirement for three future 1st-round picks.
The decision to pass on the opportunity to get Murray for 3 future 1st-round picks aligns with Connelly's handling of the draft. The common thread is that Connelly truly believes in the principle that there are no short cuts to success. He is clearly taking a longer view and unwilling to significantly compromise valuable future assets for sake of a big splash in the short term. Of course, he could totally rebuke my observation by trading picks and young prospects for Capela or Gobert, but I don't see that happening.
We might see Connelly include one future 1st in a deal of some kind, but nothing more than that. I don't see him trading McDaniels, Nowell, Kessler or Moore either. I'll just come back to the fact that the Wolves have clearly maneuvered themselves into a position where they have one open roster spot and just enough room under the luxury tax threshold to sign one free agent using their full MLE. That doesn't mean the Wolves won't trade DLO, Beasley and/or Naz or even a first round pick to acquire a Capela or Myles Turner. But it does mean they're not assuming or expecting to make any trades. They are set up nicely to upgrade the roster at a position of need solely through free agency and they have the luxury tax room to make that happen.
