Grade the trade: 2 New proposed deals for Dejounte Murray, Trae Young

The ongoing debates about what the Atlanta Hawks could, should, and will do this offseason are separate.

They have taken steps back in each of the last two seasons, this past one after making their second head coaching change since the 2020-21 season when Nate McMillan took over for Lloyd Pierce during the year.

Quin Snyder is firmly entrenched as head coach. 

Their ancillary pieces’ trade value is unknown, so splitting up Trae Young and Dejounte Murray has been popular discourse.

Proposed Hawks trade sends Dejounte Murray to Brooklyn Nets

“Keeping Murray might be safer, since he is easier to build around. But keeping Young, arguably, offers the highest ceiling, as his blend of scoring and table-setting is more potent than anything Murray provides,” Bleacher Report’s Zach Buckley wrote on May 7. “Young just leaks like an old faucet on defense.”

Buckley suggests a hypothetical trade package sending Murray to the Brooklyn Nets for Dorian Finney-Smith and draft capital.

The Hawks surrendered three draft picks to the San Antonio Spurs for Murray in 2022.

They have gone 72-80 with Murray in the lineup, largely due to going 34-44 with him this past season. The Hawks were 14-14 with Murray and no Young, 2-2 with Young and no Murray, and 20-30 when both of the All-Star guards suited up.

That paints a fairly clear picture of the pairing, while Finney-Smith would add what the Hawks lacked even at their best: another perimeter stopper aside from De’Andre Hunter.

The problem is that Finney-Smith’s $14.9 million salary isn’t enough.

Murray will count $25.5 million next season, meaning the Nets have to add roughly $6 million more in salary to satisfy league rules. They can do that and more in one fell swoop by including Dennis Schroder.

Or they can target some of the Nets players on lesser contracts to get there. 2023 first-round picks Dariq Whitehead and Noah Clowney would be terrific gets in this scenario.

Also of note, the draft capital is likely coming from playoff teams, not Brooklyn directly.

Grade - B: The Hawks would be set up to take any number of paths that may not appear available to them presently if they can land the additional assets in Clowney and Whitehead.