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When the Hawks landed Dejounte Murray two years ago, he was supposed to be their missing piece. A defensive guard who could lock down opposing ball-handlers and minimize Trae Young’s weaknesses on one end of the floor and a secondary ball-handler who would force Young to participate more in the offense as an off-ball mover on the other was exactly what we all thought the Hawks needed.
It hasn’t worked out that way. The Hawks haven’t won a playoff series with Murray. He and Young couldn’t even beat a Jimmy Butler-less Heat team in the Play-In round last season. The fit between the two clearly hasn’t worked. If the Hawks could have gotten a fair return, they might have traded him at the deadline.
Instead, they’re re-evaluating their options now. So what is the latest on the Murray trade front? Where might he go? And what are the odds that the Hawks ultimately keep him?
Why he’s in trade rumors
The Hawks acquired Murray thinking he would take them to the next level. They are 72-80 in games he has played for them. The minutes he shared with Trae Young saw the Hawks outscored by 169 points last season, the worst plus-minus of any two-man combination in Atlanta. Murray has averaged over 25 points per game and nearly nine assists in games that Young has missed since then, but only 20.4 points and 5.5 assists with him. This duo does not work. They hold each other back.
There are some irreparable offensive issues at play here, but it hasn’t helped that the Hawks acquired Murray thinking he was a star defender when he hasn’t been. Atlanta’s defense was seven points per 100 possessions better when Murray was on the bench this season. Murray was an All-Defense pick during the 2017-18 season. At that point, he had an estimated plus-minus of +1.8 on defense. This season, he was down to -1.3. He’s declined precipitously, and even if that’s a combination of effort and fit, it’s not what the Hawks thought they were getting.
Young has proven he can be the offensive catalyst for a contender. Even if it was a one-time occurrence, he did get the Hawks…
Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/dejounte-murray-trade-rumors-lakers-among-potential-landing-spots-as-hawks-reevaluate-backcourt-pairing/
Author : Sam Quinn
Publish date : 2024-06-24 19:30:17
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