30 NBA Players in 30 Days: Dejounte Murray
Day 15 of our NBA season countdown brings us to the Atlanta Hawks to preview their big, new acquisition in Dejounte Murray. Other than being in the NBA offseason headlines about his unexpected beef with #1 overall pick, Paolo Banchero, Murray’s move to the Hawks was a massive story during the summer. After being with the Spurs the last 5 seasons, he was traded for Danilo Gallinari, 3 first round picks, and another pick swap. It’s safe to say the Spurs were looking to avoid having to give Murray a massive contract in the next few years. The 6’4 guard out of the University of Washington is expected to add a dynamic that the Hawks have not yet had with their core of Trae Young, John Collins, and DeAndre Hunter. The pairing with Young specifically is set to be one of the best backcourts in the league if all things go as planned, and the Hawks may find themselves back to the stage they were in during their unexpected run to the ECF in 2021.
Murray is a completely different type of guard than Young. Last year as a first time All-Star, Murray posted 21.1 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 9.2 APG, 46.2 FG%, 32.7 FG3%, and led the league in steals. He is a guard that can do it all on both ends of the floor, minus the shooting ability. On paper, that is a player that one would want to pair up with Young, given how much of an offensive weapon and defensive liability he is. Murray could be the “yang” to Young’s “yin” for the Hawks, and the rest of the team can feed off of that duo. We had a tiny sneak peek when the duo teamed up with teammate John Collins this summer at Jamal Crawford’s Pro-Am league. The biggest hurdle that Murray and Young have to get over together is learning how to play off each other, since before this season, they have been ball dominant guards for their respective teams. If Young can adopt a playstyle similar (since it cannot be recreated) to Steph Curry, where he can use his shooting ability to bend defenses by running through off-ball screens and using his gravity off the ball, this pairing could be a match made in heaven. For his career, Young has had a 32.5% usage rate, and Murray has had 23.5%. It’s not that simple to expect that their games will mesh together. It will take a lot of games, and a lot of growing pains to get used to each other’s tendencies. Young will most likely have more of a command for the ball since it’s been his team since he was drafted and he is the better shooter. But aside from the hurdles they have to overcome on offense, the defensive fit will be perfect. Murray is an athletic, long defender, and will be asked to guard the other team’s best guard. This will make it easier for the Hawks to scheme and maybe hide Young on the other team’s worst offensive perimeter player. This strategy is not going to work in the playoffs, but I’m sure in the regular season this is how they will defend on most nights. The ability to stagger their minutes as well will be an interesting wrinkle to the Hawks’ lineups. I can see Murray sitting after 8 or so minutes in the 1st quarter and then starting the 2nd quarter with shooters around him. The defense has to shift their focus to a guard with a completely different offensive skill set.
The possibilities for these two talented guards are endless. The real test will be how effective they can be playing off of each other. If their offense develops into something more isolation heavy, then the Hawks will face the same issues they have had before, where it’s just one guy trying to orchestrate the other four players on the court. Head coach Nate McMillan will have to think outside the box and be able to convince Young and Murray that their best chance to make a deep playoff run will be dependent on how well they can work together to make their teammates better, including each other. The potential for the Hawks is high, and I’m sure their motivation is back up, considering how disappointing the last season was for them. The addition of Murray will not only give them a spark on the court, but will make them believe they can be the team to beat in the Eastern Conference.
