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How Dejounte Murray Can Tweak His Game To Be The Perfect Partner For Trae Young

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A season ago, new Hawks guard Dejounte Murray enjoyed his finest campaign to date and garnered the first All-Star appearance of his career. He averaged 21.1 points, 9.2 rebounds, 8.3 assists, and two steals on 53.3 percent true shooting. Now, his job changes. He was the primary initiator with the Spurs for a year. Young holds those cards in Atlanta, and some serious adaptation will be necessary to maximize this potentially dynamic duo.

As an on-ball creator, Murray is now the second Hawk who can initiate ball-screens from a standstill. Bogdan Bogdanovic is best flowing into pick-and-rolls against tilted defenses. Murray, per Synergy, was fifth in the NBA in pick-and-roll possessions last season and ranked in the 59th percentile in points per possession (0.875).

Atlanta’s offense cratered against the Miami Heat because it couldn’t exploit Miami loading up help on Young and cheating off the wings. The acquisition of Murray was intended to remedy that issue and counter such a strategy. Murray’s on-ball creation will help, but he needs to be concise and snappy in his decision-making when any team prioritizes directing the action away from Young.

As a member of the Spurs, Murray blossomed into a tremendous floor-raising primary initiator, a position he admirably embodied and one not many players around the league could replicate. In Atlanta, the objective has evolved. He’s now expected to be a ceiling-raising secondary creator who maintains his stardom alongside one of the game’s 12 or so best players and five or so top offensive talents.

The requirements of those duties differ. Murray proved capable of the former. If he, Young, and Atlanta are to venture where they wish in the postseason, he must prove capable of the latter. He certainly might, and especially with a few tweaks offensively. Given all the progress he’s showcased since entering the league six years ago, expecting those tweaks might be prudent. The Hawks obviously determined so.

Trae Young can learn an important lesson from Stephen Curry's relentless off-ball movement

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The Hawks are still very much Trae Young's team, but trading for Murray signals a couple of things. One, Atlanta is focused on improving defensively after slipping all the way down to 26th in defensive efficiency this season. Two, it wants to pair Young with another All-Star who can take some of the playmaking burden, which has gotten quite heavy, off of his shoulders.

While Young and Murray have the makings of a dynamic duo, there are some concerns about the fit between two guards that are at their best when they have the ball. It doesn't help that Murray is a career 33.0 percent 3-point shooter and Young has developed the reputation of not being the most active player off-ball.

For Murray, it's somewhat simple — he has to become a more reliable spot-up shooter.

For Young, it's a little more complicated.

Is Young already capable of playing off-ball? If nothing else, he's a knockdown standstill shooter, having converted 41.7 percent of his catch-and-shoot 3s since entering the NBA. Is there still room for Young to improve as an off-ball threat?

Absolutely.

The person Young can best learn from is someone he has been compared to time and time again in his career: Stephen Curry. In addition to the deep 3s and ability to pull up from anywhere on a dime, a key part of Curry's case as the greatest shooter of all time is his relentless movement when he doesn't have the ball in his hands.

Just because someone is an effective spot-up shooter doesn't necessarily mean they can operate off of screens, and there are few — if any — players in the NBA who can match Curry's conditioning. If it were easy, lots of players would do it.

The difference with Young is that he has shown enough flashes to think scoring off of screens could be a bigger part of his game. Young's speed makes him hard to keep up with on those plays and he's shown the ability to read screens at a high level, manipulating them depending on how his defender is guarding him.

Spoiler:

In the clip below, it looks like Tyrese Haliburton is expecting a handoff here, so Young quickly switches gears:



He's also a versatile shooter. Close out on him too hard, and he'll side-step his way into an open 3 or attack the basket for a high-arching floater.

According to NBA.com, Young attempted only 17 shots off of screens the entire 2021-22 season, but the results were highly encouraging: 1.42 points per possession, ranking him in the 97.2 percentile.

"Working off the ball is something that I'm pretty good at anyway," Young said following Atlanta's loss to Miami. "I know how to come off screens and get into the paint and find others. Working off-ball is pretty similar, it's probably easier than working on the ball. I know how to do it.

"I think it's really just about putting the right system for me to be off the ball."

Spoiler:

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If Young is as willing as he says he is, taking a page out of Curry's book will go a long way in him and Murray reaching their full potential and the Hawks returning to the top of the Eastern Conference.

Film Study: Dejounte Murray brings disruptive defense to Atlanta

The dynamic, All-Star guard adds a new level of defensive intensity to Atlanta's backcourt

Over the four seasons that Trae Young has been in the NBA, only three teams — the Portland Trail Blazers, Cleveland Cavaliers and Washington Wizards — have been worse defensively than Young’s Atlanta Hawks...Young isn’t the sole reason the Hawks have been so bad defensively. But in each of his four seasons, Atlanta has allowed far more points per 100 possessions with him on the floor than they have with him off.

While Young remains the franchise cornerstone and one of the best offensive players in the league, you can understand why the Hawks would look to upgrade their perimeter defense. And they did just that by trading for Dejounte Murray in late June.

Here are some notes, numbers and film regarding Murray’s defense and how it can help his new team:

1. Takeaways
Atlanta was not a disruptive defensive team last season. Only Washington and Utah forced fewer turnovers per 100 possessions than the Hawks (12.9).

Murray will change that, having led the league in both steals (2.0) and deflections (4.0) per game. Opponents will need to be more careful with the ball with him in the Hawks’ backcourt.

Murray can read passes …

Spoiler:

… and pick pockets …

Spoiler:

2. Glass work
Murray also uses his length on the glass. The 6-foot-4 guard grabbed 19.6% of available defensive rebounds while he was on the floor last season. That was the second-highest rate (behind only Draymond Green) among 198 players 6-foot-6 and shorter...When a shot goes up, he quickly and consistently gets back to the glass to help his bigs …

Spoiler:

3. Not quite DPOY material

Murray is not the best one-on-one defender. Among 207 players who’ve defended at least 250 isolations over the last three seasons, he ranks just 168th in points per chance allowed (1.02), according to Second Spectrum tracking.

He’ll bite on pump fakes and sometimes get caught standing up…Murray can also be a little too thirsty for steals, and his gambles can put his team’s defense at a disadvantage.

Murray will help the Hawks defensively, but he probably can’t make them a better-than-average defensive team by himself. There will also need to be some improvement from within.

4. On the offensive side of the floor

Here are some quick notes on what he brings to what was the league’s second-ranked offense last season …

• In Young and Murray, the Hawks now have two of the three guys (James Harden was the third) who averaged at least 20 points and nine assists last season. Having the ball in your hands a lot helps in regard to accumulating those assists. Young and Murray ranked third (8.7 minutes per game) and seventh (7.4), respectively, in time of possession.

• But Murray is also an attacker. He ranked fifth with 17.9 drives per game, and only Luka Doncic (188) had more total assists on drives than Murray (171). He sees the entire floor and isn’t afraid to drop dimes in tight spaces.

• When he’s not passing, Murray is a mid-range guy. He was one of 11 players who took at least 200 shots from outside the paint last season (217 players total) with more of those shots coming from mid-range than from 3-point range. But he still averaged more points per attempt on pull-up 2s (0.89) than he did on pull-up 3-pointers (0.84). His 44.7% on pull-up 2s vs. just 28.0% on pull-up 3s was the fourth biggest differential among 61 players who attempted at least 100 of each. While his pull-up from 18 feet and in looks pretty smooth (and will be a weapon against drop defenses), he has looked a little uncomfortable from beyond the arc …

Playing alongside Young will allow Murray to attack seams from the second side, and he’s got some stuff in his bag when he gets downhill …

Spoiler:

But Murray has shot just 113-for-347 (32.6%) on catch-and-shoot 3s over the last two seasons (a big drop-off from Kevin Huerter’s 39.5%). While he’s certainly an upgrade for the Hawks, he’s not a perfect fit alongside Young, and they’ll both (Murray more so) need to be more comfortable playing off the ball.

Three Keys to Success for Trae Young & Dejounte Murray

Trae Young and Dejounte Murray are both scoring-playmakers. But what kind of dynamic is needed for the Atlanta Hawks to make a deep Playoff run next season?

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With the arrival of former San Antonio Spurs point guard Dejounte Murray, the delicate balance of the Atlanta Hawks starting rotation inevitably changed, and for the better. Murray, who was selected to his first All-Star game last season, really grew into his two-way strengths and will look to generate a significant impact alongside his guard mate, Trae Young.

Naturally, building chemistry will take time, and that’s a given. However, understanding how to work with each other’s differences and similarities is something else entirely and a significant challenge for the Hawks starting guards to figure out and manage throughout this season.

1. Allow Both To Run The Offense

[W]hat’s important to understand here is that throughout Murray’s time in the NBA, he’s developed a skill set predicated on the makeup of a point guard, especially with his knack for passing. As a result, Murray isn’t your typical ‘catch-and-shoot’ type of two guard that the Hawks had in Kevin Huerter, for example. And his ability to facilitate and run an offense as well as he did in San Antonio shouldn’t be limited based on his new role in Atlanta.

So, how does this work? Well, when both players are on the floor (and they will be starting together), it’s crucial that they develop a free-flowing give and take between setting up plays and scoring. With Murray’s ability to shoot, drive, and crash the glass incredibly well, he doesn’t need the ball in his hands all the time to be effective. This also applies to Young. Because Young can shoot just about anywhere and is an elite finisher around the paint, it’s not crucial for him to always have the ball in his hands for him to implement his best work.

In addition, when Murray takes a rest mid-game, Young can manage the offense while his teammate catches his breath, and vice versa when Young is subbed out.

2. Embrace Passing & Unselfish Play

This is tied into the previous point. But in short, both guards should embrace the passing skills and unselfishness they’ve fostered over their NBA careers. Doing so will space out the floor and grant all their additional scoring threats the liberty to cash in on easy, high-percentage looks.

To add to it, keeping a defense guessing is one of the biggest goals an offense wants to achieve throughout the course of a game. Not knowing who might score and how is extremely difficult to match up against for any opposing team. However, as soon as you become predictable is when defenses will adjust and force stops or turnovers.

If Murray and Young maintain the proper balance of passing and unselfish playmaking, this Hawks team can go very far this season.

3. Teamwork On Defense

If the Hawks are aiming to go far next season with this backcourt, both Young and Murray will need to deliver the highest levels of defensive resiliency and efficiency they can muster together. Though winning a championship requires a team to have an elite offense, it’s just as vital for it to bring the same level of success (if not better) defensively.

When it comes to Murray, the Hawks acquired a guard who is a very talented defensive competitor and comes with the physicality and length to be quite challenging to score against. In his second season in the NBA, Murray was named All-NBA Defensive Second Team and has continuously improved his ability to steal the ball, leading the league last season with 2.0 per game. Though he hasn’t been named to an All-NBA Defensive team since his sophomore year, Murray has continuously shown how great of an on-ball defender he is and how imposing he can be on a consistent basis.

As for Young, he remains the weak link between the two and hasn’t illustrated the defensive capabilities many believe he can produce just yet. Because Young doesn’t have the size or length to make a significant difference defensively, he gets bodied off the ball by bigger guards and won’t come up with many steals, averaging 0.9 over his five-year career. That said, that doesn’t mean Young can’t play good defense and use his skills to force turnovers, be it with his speed, quickness, awareness, or active hands.

This factor remains the most important for this tandem to achieve if they plan on leading the Hawks to their first Finals appearance [in more than 60 years].

Every NBA Team's Best New Weapon

Atlanta Hawks: Dejounte Murray



The Atlanta Hawks parted with three first-round picks and a pick swap to land Dejounte Murray, and while you can debate the merits of the move, there's no questioning his prominent position within the franchise. He's already the most important player in Atlanta not named Trae Young and perhaps the ideal backcourt mate for the two-time All-Star.

Having been previously established as a defensive elite, Murray made big strides at the opposite end to fuel his All-Star ascension in 2021-22. His stat sheet wound up featuring one career high after the next, ultimately positioning him as the only player ever to average 20 points, nine assists, eight rebounds and two steals.

He could mean as much to Atlanta's defense as Young does the offense, and unlike his new backcourt partner, Murray's importance isn't solely tied to one end. If he settles into secondary roles as a scorer and playmaker while finding a pinch more consistency with his outside shot, he could easily wind up justifying the steep trade cost.

Top 25 Shooting Guards

Hawks: Dejounte Murray



One of the offseason’s most surprising moves saw Dejounte Murray get traded by the San Antonio Spurs and picked up by the Hawks, sliding the 25-year-old one spot up the positional scale to shooting guard and forming one of the NBA’s new exciting backcourts between he and Trae Young.

It’ll be fascinating to see how Murray and Young share ball-handling duties, as Murray is to good of a rebounder and initiator not to let him bring the ball up on occasion and create plays for others, but the duo is too talented – and too excited to work with one another – for this not to work.

Murray is coming off of an All-Star campaign in which he averaged 21.2 points, 8.3 rebounds and 9.2 assists to go with a league-leading 2.0 steals, though he did just shoot 32.7 percent from three, causing some concern about how he’ll adapt to an off-ball role with Young.

Still, the defensive stalwart will help mask Young deficiencies on that end while Young’s shooting should help open up the floor for Murray’s abilities as a slasher and rim attacker. 2022-23 should be an exciting season for Hawks fans, who have two [of the top guards in the Association in their starting five].

Atlanta's Biggest Question for 2022-23 Season

How Will Trae and Dejounte Coexist?



When you combine usage percentage and assist percentage, the top five in the league last season were:

• Luka Doncic (83.4),
• Trae Young (81.1),
• Nikola Jokic (74.5),
• Dejounte Murray (67.9) and
• Ja Morant (67.8).

Now, Young and Murray are teammates.

The old "there's only one ball" cliche has to be considered. Both these players have grown accustomed to engineering nearly every aspect of their teams' offenses. One or both will have to take a step back offensively.

The passing ability (and willingness to pass) of both suggests they can make it work, though.

More off-ball catch-and-shoot opportunities for Young could serve as a boost for his scoring efficiency. And the attention Young commands with the ball could open wider slashing and cutting lanes than Murray has ever seen.

The obvious benefit of having a high-end perimeter defender to spare Young on that end is big, too.

There may be a few weeks (or months) of growing pains, but these two are talented enough to figure this out.

Dejounte has no plans to proceed quietly in situations where he believes his candor can improve the team.

"I think I'm being vocal. I'm just a natural leader. I'm not holding back. Coach doesn't want me to hold back. My teammates don't want me to hold back. If they see something from me, they can explain it to me and move on. If I see something, I'm going to speak up, because at the end of the day, we all have the same goals. We want to bring the best out of one another." 

Eric Pincus wrote:Top 25 Guards for 2022-23 NBA Season



4. Trae Young

Trae Young is an offensive powerhouse. He's going to generate most of his team's offense as a scorer (28.4 points per game last season), shooter (38.2 percent from three) and playmaker (9.7 assists per night). But Young is not a high-impact defender with his slight build.

Recognizing the talent they have in Young, the Atlanta Hawks have worked to pair the 24-year-old guard with long, athletic defenders. The addition of Dejounte Murray, one of the better backcourt defenders in the league, should help balance Young's limitations.

Murray also gives Atlanta another capable primary playmaker, which should prevent teams from sending nonstop traps to get the ball out of Young's hands.


17. Dejounte Murray

The San Antonio Spurs traded Dejounte Murray (their best player) to the Atlanta Hawks to focus on rebuilding. He should now be an excellent fit alongside the offensive-minded Trae Young. Murray can create points at a high level, but he's also one of the better defenders at his position. Look for the Hawks to take a step forward this season with Murray.

From Deep: The Hawks' balancing act, starring Trae Young and Dejounte Murray

The arrival of backcourt help signals a positive pivot in Atlanta



Trae Young, an absolute inferno, in last year's regular season: 28.4 points, 9.7 assists, 38.2 percent from 3-point range, 51.2 percent from 2-point range, 60.3 percent true shooting, 33.3 percent usage. Every single one of these numbers was a career high.

Young in five playoff games against the Miami Heat last April: 15.4 points, 6.0 assists, 18.4 percent from 3-point range, 48.4 percent from 2-point range, 46.1 percent true shooting, 27.7 percent usage. He shot 1-for-12 in Game 1, 3-for-11 in Game 4 and 2-for-12 in Game 5.

These context-free stats say less about Young than they do about the state of the team entering the playoffs. Atlanta was never healthy for any significant stretch of the season, and in that series it was not equipped to deal with an elite defense completely committed to taking its franchise player out.

Enter Dejounte Murray, Young's new backcourt partner. The 26-year-old guard established himself as an all-world defender, but has since evolved into a lead playmaker. Last season, with the San Antonio Spurs, he averaged 21.1 points, 9.2 assists and 8.3 rebounds and made his first All-Star appearance.

Young was one of only five players more ball-dominant than Murray in terms of time of possession, per NBA.com. That means they are going to have to adjust to each other. Murray, while an improved shooter, is more reliable from midrange than behind the arc and has nowhere near the gravity that Young does. When Young has the ball, the floor might be more cramped, but maybe that can be mitigated with well-placed passes and well-timed cuts. When Murray has the ball, Young needs to be on the move more than ever before, but maybe that's how his game needed to grow regardless.

It might be clunky at the beginning, but it's difficult to imagine the Hawks' No. 2-ranked offense falling apart, even after losing Kevin Huerter and Danilo Gallinari. At the very least, Murray will stabilize the second unit and improve their transition game.

Atlanta could have found other playmakers, though, and they could have acquired some of them without trading three first-round picks and a swap. Murray cost that much because of what he brings on defense. He's as good as it gets at the point of attack, and he led the league in both steals and deflections. With him hounding elite guards, De'Andre Hunter can take on more suitable matchups and the team can more easily mask Young's deficiencies. If Clint Capela can regain his 2020-21 form, a defense that was dismal last year could make a monumental leap.