ATLANTA — The Atlanta Hawks are trading Dejounte Murray to the New Orleans Pelicans for forward Larry Nance Jr., guard Dyson Daniels and two first round picks, per The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
Murray came to the Hawks in June 2022, joining Atlanta in exchange for four first round picks and forward Danilo Gallinari. He played 152 games over two seasons with the Hawks, averaging 21.5 points, 6.3 assists and 5.3 rebounds per game. He also shot 36% from 3-point range during his time with the Hawks.
Despite his statistical production, the Hawks didn’t achieve much these past two seasons. They went 77-87 during the regular season, and missed the playoffs this past season. Atlanta made a big bet when they sent four first round picks for Murray, and it didn’t pay off.
Now, it seems that the Hawks are looking to recoup some of what they lost in that deal.
The two draft picks the Hawks received in this trade should help the team reload around All-NBA guard Trae Young and newly-introduced No. 1 draft pick Zaccharie Risacher. They’ll get those picks in 2025 and 2027 respectively, when Risacher has already gotten a decent amount of NBA experience behind him.
That’s not all the Hawks got from the Murray trade. Dyson Daniels, a 6-foot-8 guard out of Canberra, Australia, was the No. 8 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft.
Daniels has played 120 games in his NBA career thus far, but has never produced to the level of an lottery draft pick. His 3-point shooting - a measly 31% from beyond the arc - leaves much to be desired. He’s young, but he’ll need to show massive improvement to be worth the No. 8 slot where he was drafted.
Meanwhile, Larry Nance Jr. is nearing the end of his NBA career. The 31-year-old forward is the son of a former NBA All-Star, and has already played for four teams in his career thus far.
The Hawks may choose to trade him again to a different team. If not, he could be a reliable plug-and-play forward for his rebounding and interior scoring ability.