Dejounte Murray Is A New Orleans Pelican!
The NBA Off-season continues to bless NBA fans, as the Atlanta Hawks and New Orleans Pelicans pull off a blockbuster trade. Former All-Star Dejounte Murray is heading to New Orleans, how will this shake up the Western Conference this season, and what does this mean for Atlanta?
Start Of A New Era For Atlanta Basketball
Hawks GM Landry Fields has made it clear; the team will look VERY different next season. Trading Murray will likely be followed by a Trae Young trade in the upcoming weeks, starting again around their first overall pick Zaccharie Risacher. Murray was originally traded from San Antonio to Atlanta for 3 FRPs and a pick swap, and now has been dealt again for a 25' FRP, a 27' FRP from the Bucks or Pelicans (whichever is lower), as well as 21 y/o Dyson Daniels and Larry Nance Jr.
The return package certainly seems underwhelming at first, especially considering the haul the Nets demanded for Mikal Bridges just a few days ago. Looking into it though, I don't mind it for Atlanta. Murray is on a 4-year deal for $114 million right now, and is about to turn 30 years old, Atlanta has both cleared cap space and got some solid draft capital by trading him. That Lakers pick could end up being a lottery pick if they don't make some big moves this off-season, and Dyson Daniels is an intriguing prospect in this deal.
The Australian-born Daniels hasn't shown a lot of offensive talent thus far in his NBA career, but certainly is an excellent perimeter defender, and with the right training could easily develop into one of those coveted 3&D wings that are so sought after in the NBA. hopefully Atlanta gives him the opportunity to play quality minutes every night, which would likely mean also trading one of DeAndre Hunter or Saddiq Bey (if he's resigned).
New Orleans Finally Gets A Point Guard
CJ McCollum has been running the PG for the Pelicans the last season or so, which has been fine, but due to his natural scoring mindset and ability, their offense often became strictly isolations with CJ, Ingram and Zion. Dejounte has been playing the two guard for Atlanta beside Trae Young, but obviously has the playmaking qualities to play Point Guard, as he did in San Antonio and when Young was unavailable. While in Atlanta, in games Young missed, Murray averaged 9.1 assists per game as the primary playmaker.
Adrian Wojnarowski made a very interesting point on his twitter, as shown below. Murray has proven himself as a clutch player in this league, and just an excellent 4th quarter player in general. This will be a huge boost to this Pelicans team, as while they have guys that can score in the clutch, Murray can create shots for himself, but also for others with his playmaking.
As for what they gave up, absolutely worth it for New Orleans, Nance and Daniels were two bench guys that weren't playing big minutes. The picks they've given up aren't too relevant for them, as they'll look to be contending for the foreseeable future with this core, and the likelihood of either pick being high in the draft is quite unlikely at this stage.
Yet Again, A Win-Win Trade
As with the Bridges trade, this is another one that I think both teams benefit from for their situation. Could the Hawks have got a little bit more? Maybe. But the fact is they're starting a rebuild, and getting FRPs is always a good way to go, as well as a young player with potential. Pelicans fans should be excited for this upcoming season, as their big four is one of the best in the league, assuming Ingram remains on the team despite the trade rumors.
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