After seeing the backcourt pairing of Trae Young and Dejounte Murray for over a season, the Atlanta Hawks are reportedly ready to split the duo up. Murray has surfaced as one of the bigger names on the trade market, with teams like the Los Angeles Lakers and New York Knicks reportedly interested in acquiring him from the Hawks. On Tuesday, another team popped up as a potential suitor for the Hawks guard and that is his former team the San Antonio Spurs.

NBA Insider Shams Charania floated the rumor on an episode of Run It Back and noted the Spurs‘ “exploratory interest” for Murray:

“Dejounte Murray is trade eligible starting today and the Hawks are going to begin elevating those talks even more. The Lakers are suitors that we have discussed, they have a need at that position and we are still waiting to see exactly how his market shakes out. But one team that has a level of exploratory interest I'm told is his former team, the San Antonio Spurs.

https://twitter.com/RunItBackFDTV/status/1744741524901093754?s=20

This news certainly comes as surprising. But it makes a lot of sense from San Antonio's standpoint to consider a reunion.

The Spurs have now found their franchise superstar in Victor Wembanyama and they are looking for pieces to start building around the French phenom. San Antonio also has a glaring need for a point guard. As far as the fit is concerned, it seems like a perfect match. With that said, here is the perfect trade the Spurs must offer the Hawks for Dejounte Murray.

Perfect trade Spurs must offer Hawks for Dejounte Murray

San Antonio Spurs receive: Dejounte Murray, Patty Mills

Atlanta Hawks receive: Keldon Johnson, Jeremy Sochan, Hawks picks

This is a fairly straight up trade that features the San Antonio Spurs just simply giving the Atlanta Hawks their picks back to reunite with Dejounte Murray. The Spurs also send a couple of young guys in Keldon Johnson and Jeremy Sochan to the Hawks, while also getting former veteran point guard Patty Mills back. What a reunion party.

Why this Dejounte Murray trade makes sense for the Spurs

As mentioned, the Spurs need a point guard badly. And Dejounte Murray is as good as they come. Murray did have a pretty sour exit in San Antonio before getting dealt in the summer of 2021. Nonetheless, he has maintained a good relationship with head coach Gregg Popovich.

Nonetheless, Murray's arrival could help unlock Victor Wembanyama even further as a scorer. Wembanyama has been as good as advertised, but his efficiency as a big man is not where it should. On the season, he is shooting just 44.9 percent from the field and has a true shooting percentage of 54.2 percent, which is below league average.

A lot of his struggles are a result of San Antonio's weird experiment of running Jeremy Sochan at point guard. The Point Sochan experience has run its course and there is no point for San Antonio to keep running the same schtick for the rest of the season. Sochan is not a point guard. He may average the most passes to Wembanyama this season. But of his 6.3 passes, he only generates less than one assist (0.6) per game to Wemby. However, Wembanyama only shoots 22.0 percent on Sochan's dime attempts this season.

This tactic isn't doing any favors for Wembanyama's growth, either. The Spurs are only impeding his development if they don't run an ideal NBA lineup that features a floor general who could actually get him the ball and maximize his other-worldly talent. San Antonio is asking too much from him as a creator this early into his career. That's where Murray comes into the picture.

Murray was an elite playmaker back when he was with the Spurs. His assist numbers understandably went down with the Hawks, playing alongside a ball dominant guard like Trae Young. But it hasn't been two years since he averaged 9.1 assists per game in a season, and that was during his final go-round in San Antonio before getting dealt in the summer of 2021.

Losing Keldon Johnson also shouldn't hurt too much, as his fit alongside Wembanyama isn't the most ideal. Sure, Johnson does a lot of things on the floor like rebound, hustle, provide energy, and even create plays. But his inconsistency as a shooter would not mesh well with Wembanyama's strengths.

Why this trade makes sense for the Hawks

Johnson, meanwhile, might suit better alongside Trae Young. Young returns to having the ball in his hands most of the time, which is probably for the best. Meanwhile, Johnson will provide the Hawks with more defensive versatility and energy in the backcourt.

As mentioned, Johnson's three-point shooting still isn't ideal. He is shooting just 33.4 percent combined over the previous two seasons. Nonetheless, he did shoot 39.8 percent on over five attempts per game during the 2021-22 season. And that was alongside Murray. Perhaps being with a gravity-pulling point guard like Young could generate more open looks from Johnson and improve his percentages from beyond the arc.

Meanwhile, Sochan also gives the Hawks more forward depth and they'll be able to utilize him properly with their need for more size on the wings.

The best part about this deal for the Hawks is that it gives them control of their picks once again.