Hawks FINALLY choose between Trae and Dejounte

[tbhawksfan1]

Where do you guys and gals see Murray trade? Or not?I'm looking at ORL or SAS. Perfect fit on either

[Jamaaliver]

Where do you guys and gals see Murray trade? Or not? I'm looking at ORL or SAS. Perfect fit on either

• I'm skeptical Orlando would add him next to Paolo after their very tense exchange a couple of summers ago.
  
• Miami would be a great fit for him. Jovic, Jaquez and Herro would be useful trade pieces. But I'm reluctant to keep Murray in the division. He'd destroy us 4 times a year for the next half decade.
  
• Spurs are a solid option in exchange for Keldon Johnson, #8 and our 2027 draft pick.
  
• Lakers are a decent option for Reaves, Rui, #17 this year and their 2029, 2031 draft picks. Rerouting picks to Brooklyn would be the goal here.
  
• Brooklyn in exchange for Mikal Bridges is my top option, but Nets would require extra draft compensation to make it worth their while.
  
• Utah for Lauri and future draft pick
  
• Philadelphia for future draft compensation

[HMFFL]

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Can Walker play over 23 mpg? Utah seem to believe he can't and have restricted him to 23mpg in his first two seasons.

[Jamaaliver]

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[tbhawksfan1]

It should be easy for the Hawks to make the Murray trade a big win. Just have to win enough to make the picks in the 20s and the swap to not convey. Two 20s picks and the Charlotte pick would be a steal for the Hawks.

Keep him and make it work with Trae or trade him...IDC but need to put a 45-50 win team out there

[Jamaaliver]

I'm in the 'Keep Trae' Camp of fans...for now.

But if this type of haul was offered, Hawks would have to take it.

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[Jamaaliver]

Dejounte Murray trade rumors

The Hawks seem poised to move either Murray or Trae Young this summer



When the Hawks landed Dejounte Murray two years ago, he was supposed to be their missing piece. A defensive guard who could lock down opposing ball-handlers and minimize Trae Young's weaknesses on one end of the floor and a secondary ball-handler who would force Young to participate more in the offense as an off-ball mover on the other was exactly what we all thought the Hawks needed.

It hasn't worked out that way. The fit between the two clearly hasn't worked. The Hawks haven't won a playoff series with Murray.

Why he's in trade rumors

Spoiler:

The Hawks acquired Murray thinking he would take them to the next level. They are 72-80 in games he has played for them. The minutes he shared with Trae Young saw the Hawks outscored by 169 points last season, the worst plus-minus of any two-man combination in Atlanta. Murray has averaged over 25 points per game and nearly nine assists in games that Young has missed since then, but only 20.4 points and 5.5 assists with him. This duo does not work. They hold each other back.

There are some irreparable offensive issues at play here, but it hasn't helped that the Hawks acquired Murray thinking he was a star defender when he hasn't been. Atlanta's defense was seven points per 100 possessions better when Murray was on the bench this season. Murray was an All-Defense pick during the 2017-18 season. At that point, he had an estimated plus-minus of +1.8 on defense. This season, he was down to -1.3. He's declined precipitously, and even if that's a combination of effort and fit, it's not what the Hawks thought they were getting.

Young has proven he can be the offensive catalyst for a contender. Even if it was a one-time occurrence, he did get the Hawks to the Eastern Conference finals. He also has seniority in Atlanta as a player the Hawks drafted. Trading Young would be a far more complicated process than giving up Murray. They're going to be broken up, and in those situations, the player widely believed to be the worse of the two usually winds up getting moved.

Why the Hawks would keep him

Spoiler:

Well, for starters, their coach wanted them to. At least at the deadline, Quin Snyder reportedly urged the front office to keep Murray, according to Marc Stein. He had reason to. The Hawks went 17-18 with Murray and no Young over the past two seasons compared to 60-69 when they played together. Murray is bigger. He is more versatile. While he may not be the better player of the two, he is the easier one to build a team around.

He is also far cheaper, and that means a good deal in the second-apron world we now live in. Murray is set to make only $114 million over the next four seasons, assuming he picks up his 2027-28 player option. That's a bargain. Remember, Jerami Grant will earn more than him in that span without ever having made an All-Star team. Young, on the other hand, will make $89 million over the next two seasons, and if he re-signs, his next contract is going to be significantly bigger. Would you rather have, say, the 25th-best player in the NBA for max money, or the 40th-best player for half of that?

What destinations make sense?
Murray can work on several teams, but he's not as easy a fit as, say, Mikal Bridges would be. He needs to play point guard. He needs to be surrounded by shooting, because while he has improved, he still isn't great from 3-point range. He would also probably be best-served playing on a strong defensive team. If he can revert to his younger form on that end, great, but it isn't something a new team can rely on. Here are three teams that make some sense.

New Orleans Pelicans: The Pelicans need a point guard and were interested in Murray in February. In Brandon Ingram, they could send the Hawks back a high-end wing that would help balance their roster out a little bit, and such a deal would help the Pelicans with their impending tax problems (though create new ones for the Hawks if Ingram extends). This is one of the easier player-for-player trade ideas of the offseason. It fills a need for both teams with players of similar stature and age. Both teams have surpluses at the positions they'd be trading from, so something with this base would work for both sides provided the Hawks plan to remain in win-now mode.

Los Angeles Lakers: The Lakers looked into a Murray trade at the deadline, but had only one first-round pick to offer. Now they have three, potentially opening the door for a swap. Murray is represented by Klutch Sports, which connects him to LeBron James and Anthony Davis. James would need to give up some ball-handling responsibility to make life easier on Murray, but it would be easier for Los Angeles to match his salary than some of the max-level guards they've also been linked to. Murray would have to improve defensively back to where he was as a Spur for this deal to be worthwhile for the Lakers. Otherwise, it's only a slight upgrade on D'Angelo Russell. But if he could, it would have real upside for the Lakers.

Brooklyn Nets: The Nets want a superstar to pair with Bridges. Their presumed first choice, Donovan Mitchell, doesn't seem as available as previously believed. Murray is a middle-ground option. He's not a star, but he won't cost star prices either. The Nets could grab him while retaining the bulk of their trade assets in an effort to improve this season while courting a true superstar in the 2025 offseason. Brooklyn badly needs guard help, so if they're desperate to improve now, Murray makes some sense as a short-term upgrade.

What is the latest reporting?
Most of the reporting on the Atlanta trade market has focused on Young, but there have been a few worthwhile nuggets on Murray. The Jazz, for instance, reportedly turned down an offer of Murray for young guard Keyonte George. The Pelicans reportedly consider Murray more valuable than Young, which is a sentiment that has floated around several teams this offseason. Whether that means Murray's value has grown or Young's value has shrunk is uncertain, but it seems as though he'll have a reasonable market this offseason.

CBS Sports

[Jamaaliver]

An ignominious list to be on...

[HMFFL]

It should be easy for the Hawks to make the Murray trade a big win. Just have to win enough to make the picks in the 20s and the swap to not convey. Two 20s picks and the Charlotte pick would be a steal for the Hawks.

Keep him and make it work with Trae or trade him...IDC but need to put a 45-50 win team out there

So, keep building around Trae, until he request out?

Informing the media his preferred list of teams is another check mark that he's not going to be a Hawk longterm to me.

I can't continue to be invested in Trae as if he's committed to us.

Sent from my SM-S928U1 using RealGM mobile app

[Jamaaliver]

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[Jamaaliver]

Was Jake fed bad information...or did the Hawks pivot at the last minute?

[Jamaaliver]

Trading Dyson plus picks for DJ Murray is justifiably a fireable offense...

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[jayu70]

Trading Dyson plus picks for DJ Murray is justifiably a fireable offense...

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It's a lot of hindsight though. The initial reaction by the masses was that NOP won the trade big time with it being Nance and 2 1sts with Dyson as a throw in.
Worked out great for us.

[Jamaaliver]

It's a lot of hindsight though. The initial reaction by the masses was that NOP won the trade big time with it being Nance and 2 1sts with Dyson as a throw in.

I'm sure that's what David Griffin repeatedly mentioned to ownership...