The trade deadline is creeping closer and closer and one team that the entire NBA has their eyes on is the Atlanta Hawks.
Atlanta has been described as a team that is open for business and that everyone but Trae Young and Jalen Johnson are untouchable in trades.
The player at the center of all of these trade talks has been Dejounte Murray. In a new report from NBA insider Jake Fischer, he says that Murray is the all-star that is most likely to be dealt and that the five teams he named to watch were the Lakers, Heat, Knicks, 76ers, and Pistons. In previous reports, the Lakers, 76ers, and Knicks have been linked to Murray the most.
Here is what Fischer had to say about Murray.
“That leaves us with Murray, a 27-year-old, 6-foot-5 combo guard posting career numbers, before a four-year, $114 million extension kicks in for the 2024-25 campaign. His defensive reputation may have proven overstated since coming out of San Antonio, but Murray is still valued as a true plus on that end of the floor. Combine all of his production with the looming new ramifications of a harsher second luxury-tax apron, and Murray’s longterm number is considered relatively modest for his talents.
That’s left Atlanta in a good transaction position as the Hawks have floundered outside of the play-in picture for much of this first full season under head coach Quin Snyder. This roster hasn’t brought the juice Atlanta anticipated, particularly the Murray-Trae Young partnership the Hawks splurged to create two summers ago. But Atlanta, upon further review, still has the goal of moving Murray — and possibly moving other veterans like Clint Capela or De’Andre Hunter — to reshuffle its deck for a postseason hunt this spring, league sources told Yahoo Sports.
Murray has generated a substantial market during preliminary conversations around the league. The Hawks have been considered one of the more aggressive front offices this season, sources said, in terms of teams that have been willing to approach rival executives with actual trade concepts as opposed to general interest in specific players. And at this juncture, to varying degrees, the Lakers, Knicks, Sixers, Heat and Pistons are five suitors expected to engage Atlanta about acquiring Murray over the coming days and weeks before Feb 8.”
Here is what Fischer had to say about each team and what they could offer:
“Los Angeles has continued to tell teams it doesn’t want to part with Austin Reaves, sources said. There does seem to be a pathway for a Murray-to-Los Angeles deal if the Lakers would be willing to include Reaves, sources said, although that would require the Hawks to send back more value for Los Angeles’ liking. Around the league, D’Angelo Russell’s $17 million salary has not been viewed as a valuable trade chip for the Lakers to bolster their roster behind LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
New York is looking at various avenues to upgrade its point guard depth behind Jalen Brunson, sources said, while the Knicks also continue to evaluate center options because of Mitchell Robinson’s ankle surgery. Although with Murray in favor of a fresh start, according to sources with knowledge of the situation, it seems questionable that adding the former All-Star to pair with another ball-dominant lead guard like Brunson would have much different results than Murray’s partnership with Young. Of note: When Atlanta and New York discussed the 2022 trade that brought Cam Reddish to the Knicks, the Hawks valued Quentin Grimes during those talks, sources said.
Philadelphia is not in any rush to add a piece or burn any of the Sixers’ newfound draft capital by way of the Harden trade, sources said. Philly has been conducting due diligence on various point guards available for the trade market — although Tyus Jones doesn’t seem to be a target to keep in mind for the Sixers, sources said. If the Hawks don’t operate with urgency to find a deal, perhaps a trade could come to fruition for Murray closer to the deadline. That being said, there’s little expectation among league figures that the Sixers will pursue Siakam or LaVine during this trade window.
Miami has left rival teams with the impression that the reigning Eastern Conference champions are looking for ball-handling reinforcements. The Heat are another suitor to keep an eye on for Murray, although there hasn’t been anything substantive beyond initial talks between Atlanta and Miami at this point, sources said.
Detroit can and should have all kinds of options on its board while mired in the league’s cellar at just 3-34. While head coach Monty Williams has routinely shifted his lineups with the mind of figuring out what personnel maximizes franchise engine Cade Cunningham, landing Murray would mark an intriguing upside swing for a rebuilding organization that shared aspirations of competing for the play-in this season. The Pistons being another team monitoring Siakam indicates Detroit is evaluating bigger improvements to the league’s lowest team, even if smaller tweaks are more likely for the Pistons.
It seems like Murray is likely to be traded before the trade deadline. Despite the Hawks beating the 76ers last night, Atlanta is just 15-21 this season and tied for 10th place in the Eastern Conference. The Murray and Trae Young partnership has not worked since Atlanta sent a significant amount of draft capital for Murray and the Hawks are reportedly looking to reshape their roster.
Yesterday on Threads, ESPN NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski said that the Hawks are “open to almost anything at the trade deadline, but there is no question they have gone as far as they’ll probably go on Dejounte Murray’s pairing with Trae Young in the backcourt. They’re talking Murray deals- and others- around the league.”
Things are starting to heat up and the next four weeks are going to be interesting for the direction of the franchise.
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