With the addition of Dejounte Murray, the Atlanta Hawks announced themselves as a contender next season. They added other players to fulfill their needs from last season but Murray is the big addition that moves the needle for this team.
However, just adding an All-Star does not mean that the team will succeed. Look at the Los Angeles Lakers from last season, they added future Hall-of-Fame point guard Russell Westbrook to the duo of LeBron James and Anthony Davis. To say that it did not work is an understatement. In fact, they missed the playoffs entirely.
There are so many factors involved in making a team tick. A big one of them is chemistry and it is going to be up to the coaching staff to try and get Trae Young and Murray working together. Along these lines, a quote from Giannis Antetokounmpo shows the right mindset that is needed for a star to make sure that his team works at its best.
The Atlanta Hawks star needs to take a leaf out of Giannis Antetokounmpo’s book.
Basically, what Antetokounmpo says is that it is his responsibility to work in with the talents of others rather than expecting all of them to play according to what he needs. This is the direct opposite of the way James plays.
If Young expects Murray to play a different style of play, then this pairing is not going to work. Instead, Young is going to make sure that everybody eats, and this means that he is more than likely to play off-ball more than he is used to.
Young has shown that he is keen to win a championship. It also appears that he was instrumental in wanting Murray on the team and has been incredibly excited to have a backcourt partner who is going to help the franchise achieve this goal.
This is still Young’s team so it means that he is the player who is going to set the tone for this team. So far he has been incredible throughout his career at trying to get the best out of his teammates. This is a new challenge and one which will excite him.