At first, Atlanta Hawks star Dejounte Murray wasn’t entirely convinced of leaving San Antonio, as he already developed that love with the team that helped him grow.

“I wouldn’t say I wanted out,” Murray told Andscape’s Marc J. Spears. “I wanted to be there my whole career. I love San Antonio.”

As such, an honest and heart-to-heart talk with Gregg Popovich ultimately allowed him to determine his desired direction, as his talent could be wasted in San Antonio given the franchise’s trending direction to finally commit towards rebuilding.

“Obviously, there was some little trade rumors and stuff, but it didn’t get real to me and Pop. Pop would see stuff, trade interest in such and such or blah-blah or Spurs looking to trade this guy. Pop don’t get into that, no.

“He wanted to hear it from me. ‘Would you want to be able to go play on a bigger stage? Do you want to stay, or you want to go?’ But he also gave his opinion on if I stay, he doesn’t want me to waste my talent, waste years of not making the playoffs. So, it really came down to that.”

Murray was eventually shifted by the Spurs to the Hawks last offseason, as the former received a lucrative haul that featured three first-round picks.

This season, Murray is helping Atlanta with his 21.2 points, 6.1 assists, and 5.5 boards.