Dejounte Murray on his ties to Boston’s Derrick White via the Spurs, the business side of the NBA

“(Getting traded) is out of your control,” Murray explained. “As a player, you play the game to get better.”

The NBA may be a business, but the relationships one forms as a player can last long after the careers as a player end. And such was the wisdom Atlanta Hawks guard Dejounte Murray shared with the Celtics Wire ahead of his team’s overseas tilt with the Orlando Magic at the NBA’s 2023 Mexico City Game on Thursday evening.

Murray, who played alongside rising Boston Celtics guard Derrick White on the San Antonio Spurs’ roster under head coach Gregg Popovich for parts of five seasons before their respective trades to Boston and Atlanta, had plenty to say about the business side of the league as well as his former teammate.

“(Getting traded) is out of your control,” Murray explained. “As a player, you play the game to get better.”