The Atlanta Hawks obviously were unhappy with their early, First Round exit in the playoffs last season. So much so, that they went out and traded 3 First Round Picks and Danilo Gallinari for San Antonio’s All-Star guard Dejounte Murray. Like it or not, they now have one of the best back courts in the East and should be seen as contenders for the Conference title.
Atlanta, for so long, have relied on Trae Young’s brilliance from the 3-point line to drive them to victory. Sometimes it has worked, as it did in the 2020/21 season, where they made it all the way to the Conference Finals. Yet, most times it has not, as Atlanta has missed the playoffs 2/4 times under Trae Young’s point guard reign.
Getting a bonified All-Star to support Young in the back court will remove a lot of the pressure on Young, and the Hawks’ overreliance on him. Now, I’m not saying Trae Young is a bad player. In fact, I think he is one of the Top-10 point guards in the game today. Yet, he has been rather inconsistent when the Hawks needed him to perform.
Take that Conference Finals run two years ago. Young was outstanding, putting up 28.8 PPG, 9.5 APG, and 1.3 SPG in a fantastic single-man effort. But, last year, he only averaged 15.4 PPG, 6.0 APG, and committed 6.2 TPG in a 4-1 series loss to Miami.
Getting Dejounte Murray in that back court will open up A LOT more space for Trae to fire three after three on opposing defenses. Plus, Murray is just as deadly inside the arc as Young is outside it. With the Spurs last season, Murray put of 20.1 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 6.0 APG, 2.1 SPG, and shot 53% from the field.
Clearly, more than deserving of his first All-Star call up.
Already having Clint Capella and John Collins powering their way to the rim up front, the Hawks now have a two-man scoring back court that teams must respect and fear.
The Hawks may be active in Free Agency, but they really don’t need to be. This team should contend for the Top-4 places in the East come the start for next season, even without more reinforcements.
As for the Spurs, the rebuild has official commenced. With their sole All-Star now gone and three more 1st Round picks in the next five drafts, Spurs fans will have to wait a while before they see championships again.
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