What not getting traded at the NBA trade deadline means for Dejounte Murray’s future

As the song Closing Time by Semisonic started to play around the league at 3:00 p.m. ET, it was clear that Dejounte Murray would be staying in Atlanta.

Minutes before the NBA trade deadline, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the Hawks were not trading Murray and that the franchise would be keeping him until the offseason at the very least.

A trade was semi-close to happening early on in the day but Chris Haynes reported that talks fell apart between the Hawks and Pelicans. It's unclear why talks fell apart but the Pelicans may have wanted to keep Herb Jones in any Murray-related deal and the Hawks were insistent on getting him in any trade.

The Hawks were highly expected to move Murray as the franchise continues to fight to stay in the play-in race with only a game and a half separating them and the Nets for the last tournament spot. Atlanta made a huge move when they traded for the guard only for it to backfire with a rising tax bill coming for a squad with extremely poor defense and big play.

With this in mind, what is next for Dejounte Murray and the rest of this squad?

What is next for Dejounte Murray after not getting traded at the deadline?

Unless a miracle happens in Atlanta, the franchise will likely be faced with calls to blow up the current roster and at the very least shift things around Trae Young. This would likely mean trading Murray in the offseason. If things continue to go down this path, it's easy to see other teams laugh at the Hawks' demand for two good first-round picks and a young veteran for Murray.

Clearly, the team's lack of planning and just uncertainty about their future has continued with the front office not addressing it. While Young's play comes with its own issues, the squad is probably going to have a hard time finding a way to keep him from requesting a trade. At the very least, the Hawks will be in the exact same position looking to trade Murray in six months unless things take a sudden positive turn.

Even if the Hawks can get through the play-in tournament, they will likely face big questions about their future that the franchise hasn't answered since last offseason. This will include the issue of having Murray on the roster for the foreseeable future.