Hawks send Dejounte Murray to Pelicans, acquire center and guard

The move comes as the Hawks have looked to make big changes to their roster despite them acquiring Murray, an all-star guard, only two years ago to pair with fellow all-star Trae Young.

In two seasons, Murray averaged 21.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 6.3 assists. He also developed his game on the outside, knocking down a higher volume of jumpers consistently. He made a career-best 35.5% of his 3-point shots on 6.2 attempts per game. Murray signed a four-year, $114 million extension with the Hawks last offseason.

The Hawks needed to make a decision regarding the future of the partnership between Murray and Young. Despite lofty goals for the two to find ways to play off of each other, they just could not find a path where their skills meshed.

In 2022, the Hawks sent three first-round picks to the Spurs for Murray, a steep price for a player and questioned as Murray and Young are both ball-dominant guards. The Hawks never improved with the addition as they finished 41-41 in 2022-23 and 36-46 last years. Each year they qualified for the play-in tournament of the playoffs. They lost in the first round in 2023 and lost in the play-in game against the Bulls last season.

The backcourt duo of Murray and Young struggled when paired. Opponents outscored the Hawks by 6.3 points per 100 possessions when the two guards played together. When Murray played without Young, the Hawks had a .8-point advantage. When Young played and Murray sat, the Hawks outscored opponents 3.1 points per 100 possessions.

Though the Hawks have moved on from Murray, they do get some size back in the backcourt in Daniels, who is entering his third year. The Pelicans selected the 6-foot-8 Australian with the eighth pick in the 2022 NBA Draft and the young guard struggled to crack the rotation after shooting 31.2% from 3-point range in his first two years.

Daniels has room to continue growing into one of the NBA’s top defenders. He has strong defensive instincts, lateral quickness, strength, length and feel for defending angles and the Pelicans often matched him up against the opposing team’s top initiator, especially in the absence of Herb Brooks.

Daniels has two more years on his rookie deal, one of which is a club option.

Credit: AP

Credit: AP

The Hawks also acquired Nance, who provides them with more front-court depth and a veteran presence. Nance, a nine-year veteran, can play at both the 4 and the 5 but has logged most of his minutes as a center. He averaged 5.4 points last season, five rebounds and shot 41.5% from 3.

He has just one year remaining on his two-year, $21.5 million contract.

The Hawks still have to extend qualifying offers to Saddiq Bey, Vit Krejci and Dylan Windler before the June 29 deadline or they will become restricted free agents. They also have to decide or extend the deadline to guarantee center Bruno Fernando’s contract. They also have need to decide whether or not they will pick up Garrison Mathew’s club option.