Hawks star Dejounte Murray fuels trade fire with cryptic message on Instagram following Popovich comments

Dejounte Murray appears to be one of the NBA stars who will be traded ahead of the Trade Deadline on Feb. 8. The Atlanta Hawks have reportedly made him available, and have engaged in talks with various teams. With that in mind, the question is where the star guard will eventually get traded.

Murray took to Instagram and addressed the trade rumors by posting a cryptic message.

"Sometimes the greatest way to say something is to say nothing at all," the All-Star guard wrote on his Instagram story.

The message came after the high praise he had for his former coach Gregg Popovich, as the San Antonio Spurs emerged as a candidate to land him. Murray played under Popovich for six years before moving to the Hawks (2016-2022).

Dejounte Murray Atlanta Hawks

Dejounte Murray says he would 'welcome' a return to Spurs

Dejounte Murray is expected to move on from the Hawks as early as next month and a return to the Spurs shouldn't be out of the question.

Even though he prefers to join a title contender, Murray would 'welcome' a return to the Spurs to reunite with the legendary coach and play next to generational talent Victor Wembanyama.

"Pop is like a father to me, I would welcome that. But right now, I am a Hawk, I am going to stay professional and play the right way," Dejounte Murray told TNT, per Paul Garcia of Project Spurs.

Murray has been linked to a few teams right now, with the LA Lakers being one of them. If he moved to the Spurs, he would create a great duo with Wembanyama, but he would be unable to fight for a spot in the playoffs and a chance in the championship, as San Antonio has the worst record in the West with seven wins and 32 losses and they are 12 games behind the final play-in spot.

According to reports, San Antonio has shown preliminary interest to trade for Murray, while the Hawks reportedly asked for two first-round picks to agree to a deal. Given that the young guard is one of the top two-way players in the league, this asking price appears to be low.

Dejounte Murray and the Hawks took on the Spurs on MLK Day on Monday. Atlanta claimed the 109-99- home win with Murray going for a 13-point, 13-rebound double-double.

The Hawks moved to 16-23 in the East and are tied with the Brooklyn Nets for the final play-in spot. Still, they are ways away from being considered a title contender, and that's why they are reportedly considering shaking the roster up in the Trade Deadline.

Dejounte Murray has appeared in all 39 games for Atlanta this season with averages of 20.8 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game, on 38.6% shooting from beyond the arc.