Blockbuster new trade proposal returns Dejounte Murray to Spurs, Hawks regain some control over their future

With the NBA offseason beginning, the Atlanta Hawks’ current backcourt of Trae Young and Dejounte Murray is expected to be split up this offseason. Murray and Young’s playing styles don’t match. In the 1,172 minutes they played during the 2023-24 regular season, lineups featuring Young and Murray finished with a -6.5 net rating on average. This underpins the fact that both need the ball in their hands to maximize their skills and do not function well in an off-ball setting. Two lead creators who act as primary playmakers are going to have a hard time playing alongside each other.

Interestingly, Murray alluded to this in a conversation with Young on Young’s podcast, From the Point, in an April 8 episode. He stated:

“We are two leaders. Let’s be clear: two leaders.”

To remedy this, Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report proposed a trade that would send Murray to the San Antonio Spurs. Trading Murray to the Spurs after the Hawks initially sent three first-round picks to San Antonio to take him first overall would certainly be uncomfortable. However, the Hawks shouldn’t let the sunk cost fallacy dictate their next move. If the Spurs are interested in Murray’s services and are willing to return one of Atlanta’s picks in the deal, then the Hawks should be interested.

Details of the proposed exchange are below:

The Hawks get: Tre Jones, the No. 8 pick and a 2025 first-round pick (Atlanta’s)

Spurs get: Dejounte Murray

Buckley lays out his logic below:

If the Hawks part ways with Murray and Trae Young, they need to find a way to get their 2025 first-round pick back from the Spurs. Considering San Antonio needs a dynamic playmaker to surround Victor Wembanyama and Atlanta has one who already knows Alamo City, it seems feasible. The Spurs have been mostly atrocious this season, but when Wembanyama played with a true point guard, they competed. In the 1,288 minutes he spent with Jones, San Antonio outscored the opposition by 4.3 points per 100 possessions. For context, that number would have been the seventh-best net rating this season. If the 20-year-old was so good with Jones, what kind of damage could he do with Murray? The answer is intriguing enough for Spurs to take the plunge.

The Hawks would make this deal for picks, primarily for the unprotected first in a 2025 draft that could have several franchise-level prospects at the top. Jones could also be a good choice. If Atlanta wanted to let the kids run wild for a season, they could always covet an offensive guard who ensures things don’t go totally out of control.

I think this trade only makes sense assuming the Hawks enter a full-scale rebuild. Buckley is building this deal based on the idea that the Hawks want to move Young and Murray. While this was reported by NBA insider and analyst Bill Simmons., I don’t think trading them both makes sense for Atlanta. That being said, regaining control of their first-round pick in 2025 would be essential if they decide to go down this route. Still, the Hawks entering a rebuild without owning their 2026 and 2027 picks (all controlled by San Antonio) would be a risky business. They would have some choices in a Young deal, but that doesn’t maximize the rebuild’s chances of success. I think Atlanta would be better served trying to maximize Young’s All-Star and All-NBA talent as a playmaker and primary scorer alongside a more complementary lineup.

In the most likely scenario where the Hawks keep Young, I don’t think Tre Jones would be a good fit for the Hawks roster. He showed progression as a three-point shooter, going from 27% for his career to 38.8% in games after becoming a full-time starter. Jones is a strong passer and demonstrates good defensive instincts. However, he will likely never be a plus on the defensive end as he is 6’2 with a 6’4 wingspan.

If the Hawks do indeed trade Young and Murray, he can certainly lead an NBA offense. That being said, running him next to Young or Murray would be a mistake. While Young’s defense has made progress, a backcourt consisting of him and Jones is extremely small and susceptible to mismatches. Murray has a reputation as a good defender, but his defensive impact has waned in recent seasons. With their current roster makeup, Atlanta would likely give this deal more thought if the Spurs replaced Jones with Keldon Johnson, who played well as a sixth man for San Antonio last season. However, this seems unlikely as the Spurs’ motivation in this trade is to replace Jones with Murray.

Even though Murray isn’t a Spur, expect his name to come up in a lot of trade conversations this summer. The offseason started in earnest today with the Chicago Bulls trading possible Hawks target Alex Caruso to the Oklahoma City Thunder and I would expect things to only accelerate from here.