Peachtree Hoops: Rumor Roundup: Have we seen the last of the Trae Young-Dejounte Murray era?

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Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images

A long offseason is here.

After going all in to bring Dejounte Murray from San Antonio to Atlanta in the summer of 2022, the franchise has now reached an ominous crossroads. Murray was supposed to pair with Trae Young in the backcourt to give the Hawks a dangerous outlet when teams key in on Young. Additionally, his defensive reputation as disrupter should have been a valuable addition as well.

Two seasons later, it’s clear that the sending out three first-round picks — two of them unprotected — and the rights to a pick swap for the slender guard has brought underwhelming results. The Hawks went 41-41 in the 2022-23 season then followed that up with a 36-46 mark this season — their first season in the last four years without playoff action.

A consistent theme is that the Hawks simply look more productive with just one of the duo on the court rather than both. Across the two seasons, the Hawks were outscored by around three points per 100 possessions with both sharing the court per pbpstats. Compare that figure to around one point per 100 possessions underwater with just Murray and three points per 100 possessions to the positive with just Young.

And so, just like just before the 2024 trade deadline, rumors have again begun swirling about the future of the backcourt. This piece from national insider Marc Stein’s newsletter posted to his Substack contains tidbits of league-sourced information:

As one league source well-versed in the Hawks’ dynamics told me then in the wake of Atlanta’s weeks-long exploration of Dejounte Murray’s trade market before ultimately keeping Murray: “They know they have to trade one or the other.”

The Hawks were outscored by 6.3 points per 100 possessions when Young and Murray played together, according to Cleaning The Glass. With only one of them on the floor, as noted by CBS Sports’ Sam Quinn, Atlanta had a positive net rating in both cases.

The leaguewide expectation is thus only stronger, two months removed from my piece, that the Hawks will try to trade Young or Murray this offseason. You could also say that there is a growing belief in many corners of the league that Atlanta’s preference would actually be shopping Young.

The challenge there, of course, is that Young would not exactly enter the trade market at peak value if Atlanta decides to seriously explore moving him. Young, 25, just completed the second season of a two-year [sic], $215 million contract. He is scheduled to earn $43 million next season and has a player option for 2026-27.

The Hawks will undoubtedly hope, provided that moving Young gets cemented as their desired scenario, that the fact he’s under contract for two more full seasons will hold more sway with a potential trade bidder (did someone say Los Angeles Lakers?) than the 119.1 points per 100 possessions that Atlanta allowed this season with Young on the floor. Or that the Hawks were 22-33 with Young in uniform (including Wednesday’s Play-In rout inflicted by the Bulls) and 14-14 without him.

Another potential sidebar to make note of here: Young continues to be represented by Klutch Sports — same as Murray — but league sources say Young’s father Rayford Young also recently secured formal NBA agent certification.

On top of the fact that Stein misstated Young’s contract (a five-year deal), all of this is conjecture from league sources. There’s been nothing concrete from inside the organization that Young would be a preferred trade chip — or that that consideration is as of yet tangible.

This from John Hollinger of the Athletic details the next steps for the Hawks:

After a year of front-office paralysis where Murray trades (and others) were courted but never completed, the attention this offseason will likely turn to Young’s future.

The logic is simple: Atlanta’s guards don’t fit together, despite the multiple unprotected picks the Hawks sent out to get Murray to join forces with Young, and if they had an offer they liked for Murray they would have taken it by now. Look for Lakers rumors, especially, to heat up if L.A. can’t get past its first-round series against Denver. The other thing Atlanta can’t do is tank, however, because of those same picks they gave the San Antonio Spurs in the Murray deal.

The Hawks have other moves to ponder this offseason as well. Can they afford to keep paying both Capela and Okongwu, now that Okongwu is starting a four-year, $63 million extension? Is there enough money to bring back Bey, a restricted free agent they acquired at the 2023 trade deadline? And can they nail the draft, one where they are likely to pick 10th and could also land a pick at 15th if Sacramento wins its play-in game with New Orleans on Friday?

Johnson, who had a breakout year that was the best story of an otherwise forgettable season, is likely due an extension ahead of his 2025 free agency, and the Hawks will also have to find more ways to get 2023 first-rounder Kobe Bufkin into the mix.

Hanging over this is an inexperienced, gun-shy front office and ownership that has been unwilling to pay into the luxury tax. The Hawks enter the summer an estimated $5 million from that line, depending on where their draft pick falls and if another one is coming from the Kings, and will have some hard decisions to make.

These are just rumors, of course. And in the past almost all of the smoke surrounded Dejounte Murray, so this talk about Young should come as a surprise. As recent as January, John Hollinger himself listed Young and Jalen Johnson as the only ‘keepers’ on the roster, save possibly a rising Kobe Bufkin.

It sure seems as though the end of the two together in Atlanta is near, although we won’t have any real indication of the next steps until the new league year commences in July. Buckle up, I predict we’re about to have a turbulent summer.

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