Hawks VP of basketball gets honest about Dejounte Murray, Zaccharie Risacher

Hall of Famer and former Atlanta Hawks star Dominique Wilkins is in his 15th season as a voice for the team doing color commentary. He is also the Hawks vice president of basketball and special advisor to the team’s CEO, Steve Koonin.

It is safe to say that Wilkins is deeply ingrained into the fabric of the organization.

His opinion on the Hawks’ failed experiment with Dejounte Murray and Trae Young or their selection of Zaccharie Risacher with the No. 1 overall pick holds more weight than it may seem. 

“I love Dejounte Murray. He was good for us. But sometimes things just don't work,” Wilkins said on the “All The Smoke” podcast on September 5. “I thought we had really the most dynamic backcourt in the league. But sometimes it don't work that way. And so Trae is a guy with a big personality on our team and he's a guy who's – that's your leader. That's your leader, and that's the guy that is gonna, hopefully, get you to that next level.”

Much has been made about the Hawks’ decision to trade Murray, who starts a four-year, $114 million contract in 2024-25 instead of Young who has three years remaining on his five-year, $215.1 million pact.

Both players have player options in 2026-27.

However, Murray’s cheaper cost only enhanced the fact that he is also the bigger option and, thus, less of a defensive liability.

Young expressed similar sentiments about the pairing, noting his excitement over the trade to bring Murray to Atlanta in 2022. The duo went 55-62 in their two seasons together, making the postseason in 2022-23 but losing to the Boston Celtics in six games.

“To be honest it was a great – I mean it was good and bad,” Young said on the “Podcast P” podcast in August. “The only bad part is we didn't get to win as much as we wanted to. To be honest with you. the good part is we have a lifelong relationship. Our relationship goes outside of basketball.

“It sucks and we both admit it sucks, and that's just part of the game. If it doesn't work teams have to figure out what to do next and make moves.”

Murray said similar things about their fit and relationship. He was also happy about the trade.

Dominique Wilkins preaches patience with Hawks rookie Zaccharie Risacher

One of the biggest moves the Hawks made did not require nor did it come as a result of the Murray trade. It was selecting Zaccharie Risacher with the No. 1 overall pick of the 2024 NBA Draft. 

Where Risacher fits in as a rookie is unclear, though his projections range from shooting guard to power forward (in the future).

Whatever the future holds, Wilkins believes patience will be in order for the youngster.

“He's young, man. What is this kid, 19?” Wilkins said of Risacher. “He's skilled, but you got to be able to give him time. Give him time. He's going to be just fine. Believe me, he's going to be just fine.”

Young was not particularly high on the incoming draft class, saying he did not think any face-of-the-franchise-type players were in the group.

He did not leave Risacher out of that assessment.

“I mean to be honest with you, and no disrespect to the guys that got drafted, from the outlook looking in – and some guys may surprise us – but a lot of us look at them as role players coming in anyway,” Young said. 

“I feel like the GMs all this year are probably just trying to figure out who's going to be the best role player for whatever team. It's not like they're drafting somebody to be a – as good as Alex Sarr is, I don't think he's gonna be their franchise player going forward, you know what I'm saying? He's going to be a great, great player. Has a long NBA career. But just outlook on any of these guys coming in, it wasn't like they were going to be Luka [Doncic]s or … Zion [Williamson]s.”

Young remains supremely confident in his ability to elevate those around him which was ironically a significant source of contention in the recent trade rumors.

How it all plays out is the biggest mystery.