The Hawks found an All-Star teammate for Trae Young. According to multiple reports, Dejounte Murray will travel from San Antonio to Atlanta. In return, the Hawks sent Gallinari and three first-round picks to the Spurs.
Murray, who will be 26 when the season begins, averaged 21.1 points, 8.3 rebounds and 9.2 assists per game for the Spurs in 2021-22, earning him his first All-Star selection. He is signed through 2024, at which time he can become an unrestricted free agent. Let’s rate the deal for both parties.
Hawks: B
Murray is a very, very good player.
Even if he is not a perennial All-Star, he is exactly what the Hawks have needed for a long time - someone who can not only serve as the second ball-handling point, but also has the defensive ability to share the pressure for Trae Young .
Murray led the league in steals last season and is one of the best perimeter defenders the Hawks can get, thanks in large part to his incredible 6-foot-10 wingspan. He'll be able to fix some of Trae Young's offensive issues and will single-handedly improve a Hawks defense that ranked 26th in the league last season and allowed 113.7 points per 100 possessions.
Furthermore, Murray is a talented playmaker and is coming off his most efficient scoring season. It's worth noting, though, that he's best at scoring at the rim or in the mid-range, shooting just 32.7 percent from three last season. This brings up perhaps the most interesting aspect of the trade, which is that Young appears to need to play off the ball more than at any time in his career.
Young shot 48.1 percent from catch-and-shoot three-point range last season (despite taking just one shot per game), and he's more than capable of doing that. However, Young has been a very high usage player since his rookie season and making such a big adjustment is no easy task. If this adjustment makes him feel uncomfortable, will he persist?
Also, it will be interesting to see how this affects the Eagles offense. Despite their defensive issues, they scored at will last season, ranking second in the league with 115.4 points per 100 possessions -- a result of Young's strong pick-and-roll play.
But regardless of any growing pains next season, getting this deal done was a no-brainer for the Hawks - they acquired a 25-year-old All-Star.
Still, three first-round picks are a steep price to pay for a team that's not exactly a championship contender, especially coming off the final draft year. Murray's contract also ends at an interesting time -- no one is going to trade three first-round picks for a player you don't want to re-sign.
Next, is Atlanta willing to pay the full salary of Young, Murray, John Collins, De'Andre Hunter and Onyeka Okongwu at the same time? The latter two will sign new contracts over the next two years. At the same time, Clint Capela and Kevin Huerter are also signed until 2025 and 2026 respectively.
Of course, Atalanta should pay for the unity of the team. These players are all talented, even if some look a little redundant or imperfect. In my opinion, they should pay the luxury tax. However, if the Hawks are unwilling to do so, it will be interesting to see how they allocate resources and build a team around the backcourt combination of Young and Murray.
Spurs: B-
At first glance, I don’t like this trade from San Antonio.
But you have to admit that three first-round picks are a very good harvest for the Spurs - even the Pelicans' trade for Jrue Holiday failed to exchange for more. I just can't let go of the fact that San Antonio basically gave up on all of its "own kids" and turned to crap.
Every pick involved in this deal could end up outside the lottery.Is this a better situation than letting Murray live out his prime? What if he doesn't ask for a max salary on his next contract? What if he's willing to screw up with the Spurs? Like the Thunder and everything Alexander does...
Too bad we'll never know the answer, Spurs didn't hide their intentions: The Spurs became the first to enter the Victor-Wen The team that competes in Banyama.
You can hardly blame them. Vunbanyama is a 7-foot-2 (2.19 m) monster 18-year-old who might be one of the most interesting prospects in the world. His ridiculous combination of size, length and coordination make him a devastating defensive force who can challenge every shot at the rim and knock down shots from the perimeter. Offensively, he is a consistent alley-oop threat and has shown impressive touch with the ball away from the basket.
If the Spurs' -to-kill strategy succeeds and they end up with the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NBA draft, then this could become a league-changing trade - Bunyama has a chance to become So special.
But it's also possible that you had the worst record and only got the third pick. You'd still draft a quality player at this pick - but it wouldn't be Vunbanyama. If that happens, the Spurs can only count on the Hawks falling apart in a few years — but now that they have Murray, that's unlikely to happen.
The 2023 pick from the Hornets will likely be in the middle of the first round, while the 2025 pick from the Hawks will also be in the second half of the first round. The 2026 draft swap rights and the 2027 Eagles first-round pick now seem too far away to be discussed with any certainty, but there's a good chance neither is particularly meaningful.
Of course, the Spurs know all this, just as they know that keeping Murray (and White) will keep them in mediocrity. There are risks in going all out for Bunyama, but the potential reward is to make them unbeatable again - for now, only time will tell.
