Hawks get high grade from ESPN for Dejounte Murray trade to New Orleans

The Atlanta Hawks have taken a big step forward.

After much speculation about what the Hawks were going to do this offseason, Atlanta traded Dejounte Murray to the New Orleans Pelicans for Dyson Daniels, Larry Nance, and two first-round picks. This indicates that the Hawks are going to continue to try to build a winning team around Trae Young. While no big-name players returned to the Hawks in the deal, I think they did the right thing getting Daniels back, along with two first-round picks. The Hawks didn’t have their own picks in 2025 or 2027 because of the deal they made with the Spurs.

I’m not the only one who thinks the Hawks made a solid deal. ESPN’s Kevin Pelton gave the Hawks a B+ for the deal they made with the Pelicans:

“The Hawks had to trade one of their guards after discovering last season that Murray and Trae Young were far less effective together than they were alone leading a team.

I would have preferred to keep Murray, who signed a below-market extension last year that pays him less than the average point guard. (Immanuel Quickley, for example, agreed Friday to a deal that will pay him more than Murray over the next four seasons.)

At the same time, other teams also have access to Atlanta’s draft list and may have valued Murray more than Young on the trade market for the same reasoning. If the Hawks were to deal Murray, it would be a nice return, giving them two first-round picks, a recent lottery pick and eliminating the luxury tax.

In the summer of 2022, Atlanta acquired Spurs All-Star point guard Dejounte Murray, sending him a ton of draft capital. Murray was supposed to work alongside Young and improve the Hawks’ perimeter defense, as well as give Atlanta another playmaker and ballhandler.

It’s safe to say that hasn’t been the case since Murray has been in Atlanta. Murray hasn’t been a bad player for the Hawks by any means, but he hasn’t been the defensive stalwart they hoped for when they traded for him. He’s been a good player in the locker room and a good leader for the franchise, but the Hawks are headed in a different direction, as this trade signals.

It was becoming increasingly clear that the Hawks team was not built to win around Trae Young and that they were going to have to make adjustments. It was a goal of Atlanta this offseason to improve on defense, get more size and have better defenders at the point of attack and so far, they are doing it.

While this move doesn’t bring back a big name from Atlético, I think there are some useful pieces that will help them get closer to their goal. The best piece of New Orleans’ return, in my opinion, was Daniles, who is a young player but has the kind of size and athleticism Atlanta was looking for to help their defense.

Our own Rohan Raman analyzed Daniel’s potential fit with the Hawks:

“I’m very excited to see what Dyson Daniels can bring to this team. He’s a 6-foot-10 guard with a 6-foot-2 wingspan that he uses exceptionally well on defense. He was 13th among all NBA defenders in steals, with 1.4 steals per game, and can defend on the perimeter. I’m especially pleased with how he fits next to Young, as Young’s improvements in defensive effort often go unnoticed due to his physical limitations. Now, Young has a guard partner who can cover some of those defensive breakdowns. He also processes the game quickly and makes great passes. Daniels needs to improve his shooting (he’s only shooting 31 percent from three-point range on limited volume), but he’s young and can easily become a better shooter. I’m betting he’ll have an easier time doing that in Atlanta, as Young will demand a lot of defensive attention, forcing shooters to sag against Daniels.”

Daniels isn’t the only player the Hawks have added so far this offseason who is helping them achieve those goals. The Hawks spent the first overall pick on Zacharie Risacher in this week’s NBA draft and on draft night, Hawks general manager Landry Fields talked about his defense and shooting as important reasons why the Hawks chose him:

“Well, you start with what you see is he’s 6’2” and he’s got the ability to play both sides of the ball, he’s got the ability to defend, he’s a versatile defender, a very good shooter and a high IQ player. You know, the level of development he’s had so far is fantastic, he’s only 19, he’s going to be 19 all next year and I’ve always said all the qualities that are important to us in the past, about those types of players and the ones that we want in the building ultimately and he’s got a lot of them.”

Risacher is a 6-foot-4, 200-pound wing who fills a major need for Atlanta. He’s a versatile two-way forward who has performed well in his league’s playoffs since the lottery. He’s a plug-and-play forward who would fit the Hawks as a No. 2 or No. 3 starter.

Does this mean the Hawks are done adding to the team? No. It also wouldn’t surprise anyone if they moved on from Clint Capela and De’Andre Hunter. If they move Capela, it would open the door for Onyeka Okongwu to start at center and have Nance back him up. Daniels could either start next to Young or come off the bench. We’ll have to wait and see if Risacher cracks the starting lineup right away.

Atlanta needs to reshuffle its roster around Young and do a better job of placing the right talent around him to maximize the team. I think they’re going in the right direction so far, but there’s still work to do.