NBA Trade Notes – Atlanta Sends Dejounte Murray to New Orleans for Players, Picks

The Atlanta Hawks were one of the most intriguing teams of the offseason with the first overall pick in the 2024 NBA draft leading a back line that featured Trae Young and Dejounte Murray.

With several options in front of them before the draft, the Hawks held on to the No. 1 pick and selected Zacharie Risacher out of France. The next question for the franchise was the future of the goalies.

Atlanta cleared the mystery Friday night by sending Murray to the New Orleans Pelicans for guard Dyson Daniels, forward EJ Liddell, center Larry Nance Jr. and 2025 first-round picks (via Los Angeles Lakers ) and 2027 (via worst pick between the Milwaukee Bucks and Pelicans).

The move will shake up an already crowded Western Conference as New Orleans tries to improve on its eighth seed and first-round sweep. The Hawks will also benefit from a reset with Young back and Risacher set to make his debut.

ESPN insider Kevin Pelton breaks down trade grades for both teams.

The Atlanta Hawks get:

G Dyson Daniels
FEJ Liddell
C Larry Nance Jr.
2025 first-round pick (via Lakers)
2027 First Round Pick (Worst of Bucks or Pelicans)

The New Orleans Pelicans get:

G Dejounte Murray

Atlanta Hawks Note: B+

The Hawks knew they had to trade one of their guards this summer after discovering last season that Murray and Young were far less effective together than they were on their own leading a team.

I would have preferred to keep Murray, who signed a below-market extension last year that pays him an average of $27.8 million, less than the average point guard on the current market. Immanuel Quickley, for example, agreed to a deal with the Toronto Raptors on Friday that will pay him an average of $35 million over the next five seasons.

At the same time, other teams also have access to Atlanta’s salary cap and may have valued Murray more than Young on the trade market for the same reasoning. If the Hawks were to trade Murray, it would be a nice return on investment, netting them two first-round picks, a recent lottery pick and getting them out of the luxury tax.

Daniels is the most interesting part of this trade from Atlanta’s perspective. The No. 8 overall pick two years ago, Daniels is now 21 and has impressed with his defensive versatility and playmaking. If Daniels can improve his shooting after making just 31 percent of his NBA 3s to date, he could be a long-term starter. His inability to further develop under former Pelicans assistant Fred Vinson, one of the league’s most respected shooting coaches, is a concern in that regard. The same goes for Daniels’ 65% accuracy from the free throw line.

At a minimum, Daniels should improve the Hawks’ guard depth now that they can no longer alternate between Young and Murray at point guard. If Daniels is successful, that could give Atlanta three first-round picks in this trade – as many as the Hawks gave up to get Murray, plus the 2026 trade rights.

The picks Atlanta got in return don’t have as much upside as the unprotected ones the Hawks sent to the San Antonio Spurs for Murray. While the Lakers’ 2025 pick was valuable enough that New Orleans chose to pass on this year’s No. 17 pick to carry over to next season, it likely won’t be a high lottery pick unless injuries plague the 2024-25 Lakers. And Atlanta getting the lower of the two picks (either the Pelicans’ or Milwaukee’s) in 2027 makes it a middling first-rounder at best.

Replacing the value of the pick sent out for Murray was never a realistic goal for the Hawks in retrading him. In retrospect, this move seems overzealous, with Atlanta expecting first-round picks going to the Spurs to be late in the first round because a Murray-Young core was going to produce long playoff runs. Instead, the Hawks reached the 2023 playoffs through play-in and lost in the first round before finishing 10 games below .500 last season.

With Atlanta being projected into the luxury tax after being selected first overall, concessions had to be made. This deal saves the Hawks more than $5 million on 2024-25 salary, and turning Murray into a three-way player also means fewer roster spots to fill.

Nance could also contribute in 2024-25, though it will be interesting to see Atlanta’s plans for him. Nance played almost exclusively center last season and now joins a team with Clint Capela and Onyeka Okongwu at the position. The Hawks could look to use Nance and Okongwu together off the bench, as both are versatile defensively, or there could be more moves in store.

No trade Atlanta could have made would completely erase the missteps that led the Hawks to the point of having an expensive roster producing subpar results on the field. This trade at least resets Atlanta’s financial and draft outlook, giving the Hawks more options moving forward.

New Orleans Pelicans Note: B+

This could be a top-notch trade for the Pelicans, who have significantly improved their shot creation without giving up any of their future first-round picks. However, there are still questions New Orleans needs to answer.

First, we need to figure out what happens with forward Brandon Ingram, who no longer fits into the Pelicans’ starting five or their salary structure. New Orleans may have to save money in a trade for Ingram to avoid having to pay the luxury tax to add a center with Nance in Atlanta and Jonas Valanciunas as a free agent.

I’m also curious about the Pelicans’ vision for CJ McCollum. New Orleans’ optimized starting five likely has Herb Jones and Trey Murphy III on the wings flanking Murray and Zion Williamson, but a reserve role might be a tough sell to McCollum, who last came off the bench in April 2015 while he was in his second NBA season. with the Portland Trail Blazers.

That’s a lot of questions, some of which New Orleans may have already answered internally. The rest of us will have to wait and see how this team shapes up.

For now, let’s see how powerful Murray could be with the Pelicans. An All-Star in his last start at point guard for San Antonio in 2021-22, Murray improved on those numbers when Young was out of the lineup last season, averaging 25.1 points per game and 9.1 assists per game. The Hawks went 14-14 in those games, though mostly in the final two months of the schedule when the levels of opposition can vary.

Compared to Murray’s time with the Spurs, he’s become a 3-point shooter. Last season’s 2.6 3-pointers per game were easily a career high for Murray, who had never averaged above 1.8 before. It’s been done with a tough regimen.

According to Second Spectrum’s tracking data on NBA Advanced Stats, Murray has attempted 3.3 three-pointers per game, or 32 percent. On easier catch-and-shoot attempts, Murray has shot a solid 39 percent. That’s good news, because even if Ingram plays elsewhere, New Orleans will likely want Murray to give Williamson some space at times.

The downside is that Murray no longer brings the level of effort on defense that made him a two-way contributor in San Antonio. With Jones as their defensive stopper, the Pelicans are well-equipped to use Murray on secondary options, where his size will certainly be an improvement over the smaller McCollum. Murray is big enough that we’ll probably see him play with McCollum from time to time, although those backcourts could be contested defensively.

Ultimately, Murray’s contract should be favorable to New Orleans, even if he chooses not to give up any 15% trade bonus. In the short term, adding $5 million in salary and creating two additional spots puts the Pelicans in a bind trying to add first-round pick Yves Missi at center.

Including Murray’s bonus, New Orleans would be $9.2 million below the luxury tax cap with 11 players under contract. Worse, the Pelicans are just $3.3 million below the tax threshold. New Orleans is one of two franchises, along with the Charlotte Hornets, to never pay the tax.

All of this points to the need for the Pelicans to sell Ingram, perhaps in exchange for a veteran starting center. With With Ingram expected to sign a new contract after this season and surely looking for a raise on his current $36 million salary, New Orleans can no longer afford him. And Murray replaces much of the shot creation the Pelicans once relied on Ingram for. A trade with Ingram appears to be a matter of time, not a possibility.

Once this deal is done, we’ll have a better idea of ​​how New Orleans performs this offseason. At this point, bringing in Murray without giving up a high-upside pick seems like a step forward.