Most conversations around Atlanta Hawks star Dyson Daniels are about how he has positively impacted his new team, and he certainly has. However, the state the trade has left his old team in – shambles – is also notable.
The Hawks traded Dejounte Murray to the Pelicans for a package including Daniels, veteran big men Cody Zeller and Larry Nance Jr., prospect E.J. Liddell, and draft capital.
Atlanta is heading to the postseason. New Orleans has the fourth-best odds in the lottery.
“This season’s marquee newcomer — former All-Star guard Dejounte Murray — played in just 31 games in his Pelicans debut thanks to a serious wrist injury and then a more devastating Achilles tear,” Marc Stein and Jake Fischer wrote for The Stein Line on April 13. “The pain of Murray's limited availability, meanwhile, was only exacerbated by the rise of Dyson Daniels in Atlanta after the Pelicans included him in the Murray deal.
“His rise has been a source of tension in the organization this season, with [Pelicans head coach Willie] Green facing questions internally about his perceived past preferences for playing pesky guard Jose Alvarado rather than Daniels.”
The Pelicans fired general manager David Griffin on Monday.
The New Orleans Pelicans have fired executive vice president David Griffin, sources tell ESPN. After six seasons, the franchise will have a new head of basketball operations. pic.twitter.com/4VgYeMzwr3
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 14, 2025
Daniels is a legitimate candidate for Defensive Player of the Year after setting the record for the most steals in a single season since Gary Payton in 1996.
At 22 years old, the arrow is still pointing up for Daniels.
The most damning part for the Pelicans is that they surrendered their first-round pick to the Hawks in 2027 as part of the deal. That pick was already subject to a previous trade with the Milwaukee Bucks, but it further hinders the Pelicans’ ability to recover.
The Hawks are familiar with the Pelicans’ plight, having left themselves in a similar state with their trade for Murray from the San Antonio Spurs.
Atlanta traded away four picks in that deal, including three of their own selections.
It took two trades – sending Murray to the Pels and De’Andre Hunter to the Cleveland Cavaliers – to recoup another four picks. Only one of those picks – from the Los Angeles Lakers – is free of restrictions.
The Hawks did receive a conditional first-rounder from the Sacramento Kings in a trade for Kevin Huerter that is on track to convey this season.
Dyson Daniels ‘happy’ to be gone from ‘cursed’ Pelicans
Daniels, for his part, was not upset about getting a fresh start. He noted the organization’s annual battle with injuries, noting that he had several during his tenure. Injuries, as Fischer and Stein noted, such as those that have derailed the Pels this season.
“That organization’s cursed,” Daniels told Fischer in an interview published on December 13. “Every year there's something new. I’m happy I’m not there anymore.”
“The curse, man. I had like four or five ankle injuries down there as well. There's something down in that water down there or something. They got hamstrings. They got knees. They got concussions and stuff as well. They get everything down there. I don’t know what it is. Playing hard I guess?”
Daniels started and appeared in a career-high 76 games in 2024-25.
He set career-highs with 14.1 points, 5.9 rebounds, 4.4 assists, and a league-leading 3.0 steals per game. The last player to average 3.0 steals across an entire season was former Hawks head coach Nate McMillan, then (1994) a guard for the Seattle Super Supersonics.
The former No. 8 overall pick of the 2022 NBA Draft, Daniels has set the stage for a handsome payday, and soon.