Welcome to Atlanta, Dejounte Murray (Woj)

[Atlantaholic]

2 hours ago, ATLHawks3 said:

I think a really underrated quality of Dejounte that we're getting is his leadership. You can tell just from the introductory press conference how much that's going to be an impact in the locker room. 

Yes we need someone to hold Trae accountable, and I don't necessarily mean get in his face or anything like that. Just another player close to his level who leads by example. 

[Dnice]

Looking real comfortable speaking next to Bob as if it was mid season. 

[JayBirdHawk]

21 minutes ago, Dnice said:

Looking real comfortable speaking next to Bob as if it was mid season. 

Loved that, lol.

[RandomFan]

 

[HawkingAwesome]

he's the gifted solo

[Wretch]

7 hours ago, marco102 said:

I've been reading up on Murray.  He addresses so many team needs, but the biggest is a locker room leader.  Coming from San Antonio and his life story in general, he'll be an excellent leader on the team. He's such a hard worker like Trae.

I came back to this thread to say the same thing. I've been studying his game all week, but I just now got a chance to check him out as a person.  He really is a leader. He's an alpha and it's gonna be great for Trae. 

I think we'll see better shot selection. No way he launches those ill-advised 3s with a legit option running up on his wing.

I think he's going to surprise people with his off ball game and spot ups are going to take his efficiency to another level.

Lastly, I think Dejounte's defense, mental toughness, and leadership is going to be infectious. Trae knows he'll have to step up on that end and I think he will. 

[sturt]

11 minutes ago, Wretch said:

I think we'll see better shot selection. No way he launches those ill-advised 3s with a legit option running up on his wing.

That might be more about Trae's attitude than anything else. I don't know that I should think more of Murray as a "legit option" than I do BogBog.

But of course, I hope you're right about all that.

[JayBirdHawk]

So...uh Trav....what the hell man. 

No wonder he gave up the GM title ...no more getting dressed up for pressers and doing weekly radio interviews.

 

[HawkingAwesome]

9 minutes ago, JayBirdHawk said:

So...uh Trav....what the hell man. 

No wonder he gave up the GM title ...no more getting dressed up for pressers and doing weekly radio interviews.

 

looks like he just got done walking the neighborhood and watering the flower pots

[Spud2nique]

59 minutes ago, JayBirdHawk said:

So...uh Trav....what the hell man. 

No wonder he gave up the GM title ...no more getting dressed up for pressers and doing weekly radio interviews.

 

He’s in the Don Nelson school of “live life to the fullest”  

[RedDawg#8]

4 hours ago, Dnice said:

Looking real comfortable speaking next to Bob as if it was mid season. 

Murray is smooth. JC was our best interview for years but even he wasn’t this cool.

I think Murray is about to be the new spokesperson for the squad. Exactly the type of swagger you need on camera so people take us seriously.

No offense to Trae, but now he can just focus on being the hooper that he is and let DJ do the talking.

[aali34]

8 hours ago, HawkingAwesome said:

he's the gifted solo

This whole video could be a yoga workout the way it stretches everything.

[HawkingAwesome]

15 minutes ago, aali34 said:

This whole video could be a yoga workout the way it stretches everything.

Lol yeah it's not great apparently dm is actually a really level headed dude. But he aint gonna let that sly stuff they do trae slide.

[aali34]

1 minute ago, HawkingAwesome said:

Lol yeah it's not great apparently dm is actually a really level headed dude. But he aint gonna let that sly stuff they do trae slide.

Thats a good point. It's weird to title it about his fights and majority of the video be about hypotheticals though lol.

[JayBirdHawk]

 

 

[HawkingAwesome]

6 minutes ago, JayBirdHawk said:

 

 

man he already has that Jordan voice, without cigars.

[Wretch]

9 hours ago, sturt said:

That might be more about Trae's attitude than anything else. I don't know that I should think more of Murray as a "legit option" than I do BogBog.

But of course, I hope you're right about all that.

Well, it remains to be seen...so this is all IMHO lol.

When I say "legit" I'm not just referring to statistics.  It's just as important who is scoring and how.  Bogi may be a good catch and shoot option, but Murray on the weak side cutting or creating off of dribble penetration is a better one.  Neither is a better option than Murray running point with Trae spotting up.  Bogi might be a better shooter, but Dejounte is a better player.  He's also a very vocal presence.  

How do we think that looks in the locker room after a tough loss? What does that currently look like?

We can probably imagine the guys who are quiet or straddling the fence.  JC is speaking up, but he doesn't have the game (or experience) to be an alpha in there.  Clint is pretty vocal, but can he really talk? He's fed by the guy taking the "bad shots" and he's missing a disgusting percentage of them right at the rim.  I'm sure they all know that they're missing wide open shots created from the attention Trae draws.  Lastly, they're all in effect watching Trae get smothered since nobody can relieve the pressure.

This is just a different dynamic when you introduce another alpha.  Team chemistry is about to change.  How does Trae justify a lack of defensive effort when everyone else is locked in and following Dejounte's lead?  How does he justify bad shots when we know that Murray can set up the play with MULTIPLE options - pick and pop with JC...  Trae, Bogi/Hunter spotting up...  Pick and roll with Cap...  Same when he has the ball.  It'll get old really quick.

Remember the reports from the team's locker room split?  It's too much for him shoulder the entire offense and come down and give 110% on defense too? Not a problem any more.  Trae talking about his stats and how he's carrying the whole team?  Well, look who else has stats and is a triple double threat.  Trae thinking he's the only one who can reliably make a shot - not anymore.

Most of all, and again IMHO, Trae is a good guy and a team first player.  He wants everyone to succeed.  He's just a competitor that wants to win above all else.  He wanted help.  He got it 2 seasons ago...and he REALLY has some help now.  There's some stuff that has to change now and he knows it.  I'm expecting a better version of Trae.  People are just not ready for what his game will look like playing next to another All Star.

[bird_dirt]

10 hours ago, HawkingAwesome said:

he's the gifted solo

My favorite part was listening to the speaker read DM’s tweet. 

I wish the tweet had the N-word tossed in the mix just to see how he would read it. 

[Spud2nique]

49 minutes ago, HawkingAwesome said:

man he already has that Jordan voice, without cigars.

He’s got that voice where he’s trying to pick up on everyone in the room.  

Slow it down with Tevin Campbell type stuff… 

He like that smooth Stefan definitely no Urkel.

At 2:35 the smooth criminal Stefan walks in.. aka our Dejounte  

 

[Wretch]

I've been watching this video the last couple of days.  I copied the video at the 6:16 mark to highlight what this guy says about Dejuonte's leadership.  This and his playmaking are going to have the biggest impact on our team IMO:

Man...I'm TOO excited about his defense, leadership, and the ability to run the point. 

The whole video is worth a watch BTW.