Toronto Raptors Receive: F/C John Collins, C Onyeka Onkongwu, 2023 First-Round Pick (ATL), 2024 First-Round Pick (SAC via ATL)
Atlanta Hawks Receive: F/C Pascal Siakam
Of course, if you’ve been keeping up with the Atlanta Hawks this summer, you’ve surely heard it said already: there is, in NBA basketball, only one ball.
After all, the Hawks just traded for Dejounte Murray. They’ll be pairing him with Trae Young. The combination is intriguing, but that’s not the same as saying that it projects as flawless.
It doesn’t. Trae Young is one of the absolute best on-ball players in the entire NBA. His playmaking has been the engine of this Atlanta Hawks offense over the past several seasons. He’s fine off-ball, and conversely, Dejounte Murray is solid with the rock.
On the other hand, he provides very little off-ball value as a mediocre shooter.
On the other hand, the pairing might be a necessary evil for Atlanta. Young is a wizard on offense, but he’s one of the worst defensive players in the NBA.
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Meanwhile, Murray is an elite point-of-attack defender. He was largely brought in to offset Young’s shortcomings in that regard.
With all that said, Pascal Siakam doesn’t necessarily project as an obvious fix for these problems. Should the Hawks really pursue him?
