Grade the trade: Hawks pitch lands haul for Dejounte Murray & Bogdan Bogdanovic

The Atlanta Hawks should refrain from breaking up their star backcourt duo of Trae Young and Dejounte Murray unless an offer blows them away.

That being said, a team coming off back-to-back years of regression – sporting a worse winning percentage in both years and missing the postseason this past season – they have to at least be open to the idea.

And there is a chance the stars could align to make such a move the right decision.

“At least one of Murray and Trae Young will be shipped out this offseason—or so it seems,” Bleacher Report’s Dan Favale wrote on June 6. “Restocking and reorienting the wing rotation should register as Atlanta's primary objective in any deal—unless, of course, it's warming up to a full-tilt rebuild instead. This framework offers a bit of both worlds.

Favale proposes a package that would land not only Brandon Ingram but also 2022 first-round pick Dyson Daniels.

Proposed Hawks trade lands pair of former top-10 picks, additional draft capital.

The Hawks have been linked to both Daniels and Ingram in trade rumors since the deadline.

Daniels was the No. 8 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. Favale also suggested the Hawks pursue a trade for Daniels in April. The Pelicans and Hawks also talked at the trade deadline, discussing potential packages involving Murray.

Daniels averaged 5.8 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.4 steals last season. He is not a shooter, connecting on 31.2% of his threes and 64.5% from the free throw line.

At 6-foot-7 with a 6-foot-10 wing span, Daniels is disruptive on defense.

More recently, The Stein Line’s Marc Stein named the Hawks among several teams that could show interest in Ingram this offseason. Stein reports the Pelicans are expected to “aggressively” pursue a trade for the former No. 2 overall pick and one-time All-Star this summer.

Ingram averaged 20.8 points, 5.7 assists, and 5.1 rebounds last season. He is not the defender that Daniels is.

But he is a 36.2% career shooter from three with four seasons of 38% or better in eight years.

He averaged fewer than 2.0 attempts in one of those seasons and shot 35.5% from deep last season. Still, the 6-foot-8 swingman can create offense for himself and others and is effective both on and off the ball. 

The Hawks traded four draft picks to the San Antonio Spurs in the trade for Murray, two of which were their own and another via a swap option.

Getting back two firsts plus a promising prospect and equal-number All-Star is great value.

Murray is starting a four-year, $114 million contract while Bogdan Bogdanovic is going into Year 2 of a four-year, $68 million pact. Conversely, Daniels is going into Year 3 of a four-year, $25 million rookie deal.

Ingram is entering the final year of a five-year, $158.2 million contract. But that also gives the Hawks some flexibility if decided they wanted to pivot again next offseason.

The 2020 Olympian, Ingram would be an appealing sign-and-trade target too.

Grade – A: This deal would shave less than $500,000 from the Hawks’ bottom line. But it would give them tremendous flexibility moving forward