Grade the Trade: Hawks send Dejounte to Timberwolves in stunning idea

The Atlanta Hawks were not a very good team last season. There were plenty of bright moments, including multiple buzzer-beaters and the Play-In Tournament win over the Miami Heat, but the end result (eighth-seed and a first-round playoff exit) was not what the franchise wanted when the season began.

To change their fate next year, they can’t simply sit back and let the offseason happen in front of them. The trade they have already agreed to is simply a salary dump to get off of John Collins; it might not make them much worse, but it certainly isn’t going to make them a better team next season.

To make a big change, the Hawks will need a trade

The Hawks are capped-out and, given their fear of the luxury tax, don’t have much flexibility to add to the roster in free agency. That leaves the trade market as the primary pathway to a major change for next season.

The pairing of Trae Young and Dejounte Murray did not go particularly well last season. Instead of running it back, could they take advantage of the moment to move Murray now, before he walks in free agency next summer?

The Minnesota Timberwolves have been a team interested in Murray going back to before the trade last offseason that brought him to the Hawks. Could they be a candidate for a team-shifting trade that gives each roster a chance at a better year in 2023-24?

Let’s break down a potential trade between the two teams.