Hawks addressed 'open secret' with Trae Young after failed Dejounte Murray experiment

The Atlanta Hawks building a roster that better complements Trae Young than in recent years was no mistake. Nor is it a mistake that the Hawks are enjoying the early returns from their offseason retooling.

Young’s role in the Hawks’ lack of success went beyond on the court, extending to his connection with his teammates.

That changed this past offseason.

The Hawks traded Dejounte Murray to the New Orleans Pelicans. ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reports that it had been an “open secret” during Murray’s tenure in Atlanta that the team had “chemistry issues” due to Young’s aloofness that impacted the duo’s “working relationship.”

Rather than let the issue linger, the Hawks split the duo up. And, instead of trading their franchise cornerstone as has often been suggested, the Hawks worked with Young.

“Hawks officials have been working with Young -- who can be a bit of an introvert, teammates have noticed over his career -- on his leadership and relationship-building skills,” Windhorst wrote on December 13. “It's still a work in progress, but Young is becoming better at it, team sources said, and it's been one of the many positives for the Hawks this season.”

What Young has done is fly in the face of his doubters and detractors.

Windhorst and ESPN colleague Tim MacMahon said during the “Hoop Collective” podcast that the Hawks would have traded Young this offseason had they found a suitable deal, to which Young responded by sharing a graphic of “The Made-Up NBA Story Cycle.”

But Young embraced the challenge of this season, intending to get back to his distributor roots and set a goal to match his jersey number (11) in assists.

He leads the league with 12.2 per game.

“I want to get back to where I've been,” Young said on the “Million Dollars Worth of Game” podcast episode that aired on September 8. “A lot of people look at our roster and don't have a lot of high expectations, so that's sometimes good for a player like me who's been built on beating expectations his whole life. So I'm just ready to play and beat expectations and whatever that ends up being, I'm going to be ready for it and excited for it.”

Young has always spoken with pride about setting his teammates up on the court. But his assist off it showed he had taken heed to the Hawks’ advice.

He took a critical first step in building chemistry with Dyson Daniels and Zaccharie Risacher.

Hawks’ retool essentially gave Trae Young a fresh start

“Late in the summer, after the Olympics, Hawks star point guard Trae Young flew Daniels and Risacher out to his offseason home in Oklahoma for a multiday training and bonding session, sources said,” Windhorst wrote. “It was greatly appreciated by the young new teammates and formed the foundation for building a relationship with two cornerstones of the future in Atlanta.”

That is not to say anything about the futures of Bogdan Bogdanovic, Clint Capela, or De’Andre Hunter, each of whom is expected to be available for the right offer before the trade deadline.

Jalen Johnson and Onyeka Okongwu are both under contract and remain key figures.

But Daniels, whom the Hawks acquired in a package from the Pelicans for Murray and Risacher, the No. 1 overall pick of the 2024 NBA Draft, are the two the three youngest players on the 15-man roster.

They’re also the two players tasked with flanking Young, offering outlets on offense and defensive cover.

The Hawks got through to Young, and they are reaping the rewards.

Young has never pushed for his trade, going so far as to say he wanted to win in Atlanta, but putting it on the organization to pursue that path. And there remains the possibility that the Hawks indeed go with a youth movement if they are careening toward the Play-In Tournament.

However, all the signs suggest the team is going in a different direction. And it looks like the Hawks’ plans were, unsurprisingly, different than what was rumored more with each game.

Perhaps it is his age.

The Hawks roster just six players older than the 26-year-old Young. Two of them, Garrison Mathews and Larry Nance Jr., have bit roles. Another, Cody Zeller, has been away from the team all season.

The Hawks are nearing the second anniversary of trading John Collins, the last player rostered with more tenure in Atlanta than Young.

Whatever the reason may be, Young is bought in and it is working.