When the Spurs sent Dejounte Murray to Atlanta in 2022, the return looked like the kind of package that could keep paying off for years. At the time, San Antonio had reason to feel good about the deal. Then the Hawks’ partnership with Trae Young started to wobble, and the whole thing seemed to tilt even further in the Spurs’ favor.
That optimism has cooled fast. What once looked like a chance for the Spurs to cash in on multiple lottery picks has turned into something far less dramatic, and the last piece of the trade may be the toughest one to value.
So far, San Antonio has only landed one lottery pick from the deal, and it came at the very end of the haul in the 2025 draft. That point isn’t about Carter Bryant or whether he was the right choice.
He was. The bigger story is where Atlanta’s picks have actually landed compared with what people expected when the trade was made.
The assumption was simple: the Hawks would slide. Instead, Jalen Johnson has developed into an All-Star, and Atlanta has outperformed expectations. Even after trading Young and dealing with injury issues, the Hawks didn’t take the step back many projected.
They won 46 games last season, grabbed the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference, and sent the Spurs the 20th pick in this summer’s draft. That also isn’t about Jayden Quaintance. San Antonio will make the most of whatever slot it gets, and that’s exactly what it has done.
The problem for the Spurs is what comes next. Atlanta’s 2027 first-round pick is still out there, and the way things are trending, it could land even later than the picks before it.
JJ will only get better. Onyeka Okongwu is a young stud at center.
He's still improving. Their front office hasn't rested at all.
Lu Dort and Aaron Wiggins are showing up to bolster their depth after being traded for over the last few weeks.
Every bit of progress from the Hawks pushes San Antonio’s final piece farther down the draft board.
None of that means the Spurs lost the trade. They still came away with Bryant, useful flexibility, and multiple assets.
But the payoff no longer looks like the huge windfall some imagined. Fans who once pictured a pile of lottery picks now have to live with the more realistic possibility of selections in the late 20s.
Even so, the deal still matters for San Antonio. It helped set up the path to the first overall pick after the tanking stretch that brought Victor Wembanyama to the Spurs.
What it doesn’t look like anymore is the franchise-altering heist many thought it might become.
In Other News...
Spurs Fans Will Hate Where Victor Wembanyama Landed In This Debate
Bleacher Reports latest all-time defenders list has already given Spurs fans something to grumble about, with Victor Wembanyama landing 36th among the 99 names. For a player whose NBA career is still in its early stages, the placement is jarring on its face, especially when the argument around him is built less on longevity and more on how quickly he has changed the geometry of the floor for San Antonio.
Wembanyamas defensive case is unusually strong for someone this early in his career, thanks to a Defensive Player of the Year award and a run of dominance that has made him the leagues premier rim deterrent almost from the moment he arrived. The bigger debate is whether a rsum this unique should already push him into the conversation with the very best defenders ever, or whether the list is simply asking him to wait his turn like everyone else. [Read more 🡒]
Spurs Just Tightened An Offseason Squeeze With This Guard Decision
David Jones-Garcia is back on a Two-Way deal with the Spurs for 2026-27, keeping a young guard in the organization after he logged time in both the NBA and G League last season. San Antonio confirmed the signing after Michael Scotto of HoopsHype first reported it, and the move gives the Spurs another depth option behind their main rotation at a position where extra bodies always matter over the grind of a season.
The decision also keeps the roster picture moving in a direction that still needs one more answer before opening night. With 14 standard spots already filled, the Spurs now have to sort through the final piece of their roster construction, whether that means a cut, a conversion to a standard deal, or simply holding the last spot open for later. Jones-Garcias return adds another layer to that calculation, especially as he works back from the ankle injury and surgery that cut short his season. [Read more 🡒]
Spurs Reward Young Prospect As Two-Way Roster Tension Builds
David Jones Garcia is headed back to the Spurs on a two-way contract after turning heads in Summer League, a nice bit of business for a team that has been willing to keep investing in young talent. The move also gives San Antonio another look at a player who has already shown he can produce in the G League, where he put up strong numbers for Austin before his season was cut short by ankle surgery.
The return comes after the Spurs issued Jones Garcia a qualifying offer in June, setting up what should be a one-year arrangement with some financial protection. It also adds a little more pressure to a two-way group that is already tight, because the deal still has to be finalized and the roster math is not especially forgiving as the Spurs sort out their developmental spots. [Read more 🡒]