The Atlanta Hawks are reportedly buying and selling All-Star guard Dejounte Murray to the New Orleans Pelicans for Larry Nance Jr., Dyson Daniels, a 2025 first-round choose and a 2027 first-round choose, per ESPN. The Hawks had lengthy been rumored to half with both Murray or Trae Younger, and now it seems they’ve decided, and Murray will likely be becoming a member of the Pelicans to play alongside Zion Williamson.
With Murray departing the Hawks, Atlanta has now formally moved on from the short-lived backcourt of Younger and Murray. The duo performed simply two seasons collectively in Atlanta, which amounted to a first-round playoff exit in Yr 1, and a disappointing 36-46 report this previous season. Regardless of the poor displaying from the Hawks this season, Murray averaged a career-high 22.5 factors, to go together with 6.4 assists and 5.3 rebounds. He additionally shot practically 46% from the ground, and a close to career-high 36.3% from deep on over seven makes an attempt per sport.
It is a strong transfer for the Pelicans, and appeared to be a mandatory one for the Hawks, so let’s kind via this deal and see the place the worth is on each side. Listed below are our grades for the Murray commerce.
New Orleans Pelicans: B+
The Pelicans have actually wanted somebody to bolster their backcourt with CJ McCollum, and so they’re getting that with Murray. With him within the fold, it’s going to enable McCollum to maneuver again to his extra pure place of capturing guard. Murray can have the ball in his fingers extra, and McCollum can play the function he was so profitable at with the Path Blazers alongside Damian Lillard.
The transfer additionally supplies the Pelicans with one other scoring risk subsequent to McCollum and Zion Williamson, and probably Brandon Ingram, relying on his future with the workforce. Ingram has lengthy been rumored as a summer time commerce candidate, however ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that New Orleans is hoping to search out widespread floor on a contract extension with Ingram. If he does stick with the Pelicans, will probably be fascinating to see how all these guys share the ball, as a result of as we noticed with the Hawks, Murray is best when he has the ball in his fingers.
Regardless, Murray’s 3-point quantity — and effectivity — will assist a New Orleans workforce that ranked twenty fourth in 3-point makes an attempt. Extra so, his affect extends with or with out the ball, he can rating off the dribble, and within the season by which he earned All-Star honors with the Spurs, he confirmed off his courtroom imaginative and prescient along with his capability to facilitate at a excessive stage, averaging over 9 assists a sport.
On the defensive aspect of the ball is maybe the place the Pelicans get the best worth in Murray. At 6-foot-5, Murray has an insane 6-foot-10 wingspan, which makes life tough for opposing guards on the perimeter. He earned All-Defensive honors in the course of the 2017-18 season, and he now joins a roster with newly named All-Defensive ahead Herbert Jones. The Pelicans are coming off a season by which they’d the sixth-best protection within the league. Including Murray to the combo elevates that protection even additional.
Atlanta Hawks: B
The Hawks had been rumored to maneuver Murray or Younger in some unspecified time in the future, and forward of the commerce deadline it appeared like Murray would find yourself with the Lakers. However Atlanta held onto him for the rest of the season, and bought two first-round picks, in addition to a strong younger participant in Daniels to go along with it. The 2025 first-round choose is coming from the Lakers, and the 2027 choose would be the worse of both the Bucks or Pelicans, so neither will maintain a ton of worth within the grand scheme of issues. However subsequent 12 months’s draft is anticipated to be deep, and even when L.A.’s choose is a mid-to-late first rounder, there could possibly be some excessive upside with whoever Atlanta chooses.
With Murray gone, it provides the Hawks a little bit of readability on the place they need to go for the remainder of the offseason. We’ll should see in the event that they plan to be aggressive subsequent season, as a result of regardless of the one season the place they made it to the Japanese Convention finals, the Hawks have not skilled a lot success with Younger as their centerpiece. He is solely 25 years previous, and he was the explanation the Hawks made that journey within the first place, however his effectivity has taken a dive over the past two seasons, and he is nonetheless among the many league’s worst defenders.
There’s an possibility right here by which the Hawks may hit the total reset button and transfer on from Younger to enter a rebuild. Atlanta simply drafted the No. 1 choose in Zaccharie Risacher, and Younger will nonetheless fetch precious property on the commerce market. But when the plan is to make further strikes to proceed constructing round Younger for the foreseeable future, Atlanta acquired appreciable property from this deal that could possibly be parlayed into additional work.