Give the Atlanta Hawks and San Antonio Spurs credit. Both of these organizations are bold. The Hawks just acquired NBA All-Star star point guard Dejounte Murray from the Spurs in exchange for, effectively, Danilo Gallinari’s contract and a boatload of draft capital. It’s a high-risk, high-reward move for both clubs.
The Hawks land an elite point-of-attack defender in Murray to compensate for Young’s deficiencies on that end of the floor. That’s great, but the offensive fit is harder to envision.
Arguably, the only hole in Murray’s game is his shooting. We’ll see how that looks alongside one of the most ball-dominant players in the NBA in Young.
Of course, if it does work out, that could spell trouble for the Spurs. They acquired a protected 2023 first-rounder that originally belonged to the Hornets in addition to two unprotected picks and a pick swap directly from the Hawks.
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If the Murray/Young pairing bears fruit, those picks could all land in the bottom half of the first round.
In any event, there’s much to analyze in the deal. That’s exactly what makes it so fun. Here are three more major trades that would give NBA fans much to discuss.
