NBA Trade Rumors: One Potential Suitor "Not Interested" In Trae Young

There's been plenty of buzz recently about the Atlanta Hawks looking to move on from one of their backcourt duo, Trae Young or Dejounte Murray, with most of the talk centering on Young being the one the Hawks are most anxious to deal.

However, one team that's been mentioned as a possible suitor for Trae, the San Antonio Spurs, can already be scratched off the list according to NBC Sports' Kurt Helin.

League sources have told NBC Sports not to bet on that happening, as San Antonio doesn’t see Young as a fit with (Victor) Wembanyama going forward. The Spurs might be more interested in the Hawks’ Dejounte Murray if he is available.

Murray, of course, was a first-round pick by the Spurs and played his first five season in the NBA with them, including notching his first All-Star selection in 2022. They known full well what Murray can do, and obviously would see him as a fit to return and play alongside the soon-to-be-named Rookie of the Year, Wembanyama. 

The Murray-Young pairing has simply not worked very well since the high hopes of that combo began in 2022. The team finished at .500 (41-41) that season and lost in the first round of the playoffs, then dropped to a 36-46 campaign this year, and didn't make it out of the Play-In. 

Murray actually posted career highs with 22.5 points and 36.3% shooting from a long range this season. Young played only 54 games, but did averaged 25.7 points and a career-best 10.8 assists. His extreme deficiencies on the defensive end, however, are concerns not only for the Hawks, but also any potentially interested team. 

Insider Marc Stein recently revealed that it is indeed Young that the Hawks would like to move on from. "You could also say that there is a growing belief in many corners of the league that Atlanta's preference would actually be shopping Young," Stein wrote.

As for the Spurs, although Young is not at all on their radar, and Murray is, they have also been linked to another very notable point guard as a potential pairing with Wemby next year, which we covered here.

 Photo: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports