The Hawks made a huge move this offseason by sending Dejounte Murray to the New Orleans Pelicans and they officially broke up the backcourt of Murray and Trae Young two years after trading for Murray. With the move, it likely signaled that the Hawks are still going to be building around Trae Young for the future and without control of their own picks for the next three years, that is the best move unless they could get those draft picks back.
Even when the Hawks traded Murray, there was discussion about whether the Hawks actually wanted to continue to build around Young or whether they could not get their asking price on the trade market. Bleacher Report’s Grant Hughes wrote that the Hawks’ biggest miscalculation this offseason was Trae Young’s trade market:
“The Atlanta Hawks’ decision to break up their backcourt by trading Dejounte Murray instead of Trae Young could turn out to be the right call. But by choosing to retain Young, whose presence has a more fundamental impact on Atlanta’s identity—how it plays on offense, what it must do to compensate for him on D, how it builds out the rest of the roster—the team risks finding itself in a similar situation a year from now.
Which is to say: disappointed in the results and still looking for a true reset.
That the Hawks moved Murray suggests they still believe Young can be their central figure on the floor and in the locker room. Or it could mean packages for Young weren’t as enticing as hoped.
Atlanta should feel good about landing Dyson Daniels and a couple of future firsts for Murray. In tandem with No. 1 pick Zaccharie Risacher, the Hawks are fashioning a bigger, more defensively oriented supporting cast around Young, which makes sense. But regret could come in two forms here: Either Young will continue to fall short as a leader and defender, resulting in the Hawks looking no better in their new form than they did in their old one, or Young will bristle at being shopped and ultimately kept.”
I still think the Hawks can be a contender with the right team around Young and the biggest criticism of the past couple of seasons was that the front office did not put the right pieces around Young. This offseason indicates that they are trying to fix that. With drafting Zaccharie Risacher No. 1, and trading for Dyson Daniels in the Murray deal, the Hawks have made it a point to get bigger and more athletic around Young. Will this result in more wins? That remains to be seen, but this front office has taken a better approach to trying to put the right pieces around Young.
Leave a Reply