4 Lineups the Atlanta Hawks need to use more next season
Dejounte Murray – Bogdan Bogdanovic – AJ Griffin – Jalen Johnson – Onyeka Okongwu
The Hawks made the blockbuster trade for Dejounte Murray this past offseason with the idea that he could take the load off of Young and keep things humming when the latter sits. But this season showed just how much of an adjustment is needed for the two ball-dominant guards.
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To that point, this was the only qualifying lineup (100-plus possessions) to post a positive net efficiency differential. Their plus-2.1 rating ranked in the 46th percentile but they did do a couple of things well that could improve simply with more time together – the group saw just 249 possessions together during the regular season.
This group was solid attacking the glass on both ends ranking in the 88th percentile offensively and the 70th percentile defensively.
Still, Atlanta’s net rating was minus-6.0 with Murray on and Young off. It could take more convincing to get this lineup more time on the floor. That’s not what the Hawks had in mind when they surrendered a king’s ransom for Murray who was really good individually.
He averaged 20.5 points, 6.1 assists, 5.3 rebounds, and 1.5 steals in his first season with the Hawks on .464/.344/.832 shooting splits.
Where things could get interesting for Murray and the Hawks is after next season when the one-time All-Star hits unrestricted free agency. That makes the next year-plus an audition for both parties. As it stands, there is no incentive for either side to strike a deal now given the structure of the guard’s current four-year, $64 million deal and the current NBA rules.
That does beg the question of what the Hawks do when neither Young nor Murray is available.