It seems for all the world as though the Atlanta Hawks will be trading Dejounte Murray in the next two weeks. With a 19-27 record that will struggle to make the play-in tournament let alone any noise at the top of the Eastern Conference, they need a change; even though he was a headline acquisition relatively recently, Murray becomes on the block by default, as he is the most changeable part they have to offer.
Since coming to the Hawks and pairing with All-Star point guard Trae Young, Murray – a one-time All-Star in his own right – has played a different role. When Young is on the court, the ball is or should be in his hands, and Murray’s assists per game totals have taken a hit from 9.1 in his final season with the San Antonio Spurs, down to 5.1 in his first 45 games of this season.
On the flip side, his scoring average this season is a career-high 21.4 points per game, a continuing source of growth throughout his career. Yet Murray’s defense is not enough to offset what Young gives back on that end. It is unclear if anyone could be; nonetheless, if the defensive advantage is not there, then perhaps better offensive cohesion could be.
In terms of what Murray did wrong to be traded; he didn’t. While his defense has wilted somewhat this season, Murray is still a productive two-way player of quite some caliber and of the right age to be valuable. If the Hawks are looking to deal Murray, be it actively or passively, they are not doing so because of his individual failings. They are doing so because they need to make a winning trade.
With this in mind, here are three possible trade destinations for Dejounte Murray to have hit the rumor mill, and the reasons why they all make at least some sense.