Atlanta Hawks GM Landry Fields Reveals Why They Decided To Trade Dejounte Murray

Atlanta traded Dejounte Murray to the New Orleans Pelicans for Dyson Daniels, Larry Nance, EJ Liddell, Cody Zeller, and two first round picks

Jun 28, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks general manager Landry Fields talks to the media at the Emory Sports Medicine Complex. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports / Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

It has been nearly two weeks since the Atlanta Hawks made one of their biggest decisions as a franchise.

Two years after making a blockbuster trade to land Murray from the San Antonio Spurs, the Hawks sent him to New Orleans for Dyson Daniels, EJ Liddell, Larry Nance, Cody Zeller, and two first round picks. The Hawks are aiming to get back into the playoff picture and will hope these new pieces will help them do that.

Atlanta is getting ready to head off to Las Vegas for Summer League and Hawks general manager Landry Fields spoke with the media today. When asked about what went into the decision to trade Murray, this is what Fields had to say:

"Just evaluating where we are at. It was a hard decision, it was challenging, we knew that where we ultimately wanted to be, was going to require some challenging decisions, just not being at that point currently where we felt like we could continue on with what we have so we wanted to reshape some things and this is an unfortunate part of the business. Dejounte is a fantastic player and we are excited for him and his journey onto New Orleans and we are also very excited about the guys that we got back. We got some assets back too that are going to be helpful to us. We wish him nothing but the best, he and his family have been nothing but great for us."

Hawks GM Landry Fields on the Dejounte Murray trade… pic.twitter.com/z1cuj6n8rX

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Fields had this to say after the trade was complete on Sunday:

“Our goal is to build a contending team that can compete deep into the playoffs,” said Hawks General Manager Landry Fields. “It became evident after further analysis and evaluation this offseason that we needed to reshape our roster and regain assets that would allow us to further build out our team. It is certainly difficult to trade a player like DJ, but we knew it was best for our organization to move forward this way. We wish he and his family only the best.”

Dyson Daniels saw action in 61 games (16 starts) during the 2023-24 season, posting career highs of 5.8 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.4 steals in 22.3 minutes. He scored 10-or-more points in a career-best 13 games during the 2023-24 campaign, netting a career-high 17 points against the Dallas Mavericks on Nov. 12.

A 2024 Panini Rising Star, Daniels recorded 1.4 steals per game during the 2023-24 campaign, the 10th-most in the NBA, and owned a .341 steal percentage last season, ranking fifth in the league (min. 50 GP). He recorded a career-high six steals at Utah on Nov. 25, becoming the only second-year player to swipe at least six steals in a single game this past season and one of only two first-or-second year players to do so, joining Victor Wembanyama. He recorded all six steals in the first half, tied for the most steals in a single half in the NBA this past season and tied for the second-most steals in a single half in New Orleans history.

Selected eighth overall in the 2022 NBA Draft by the Pelicans, the 6-7 guard owns career averages of 4.8 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.1 steals and 20.0 minutes in 120 games (27 starts). Prior to the Pelicans, he spent the 2021-22 season with the NBA G League Ignite, where he was named to the 2022 Clorox Rising Stars roster.

Daniels, a native of Bendigo, Australia, played for Australia in the 2023 FIBA World Cup.

Liddell appeared in eight games with the Pelicans during the 2023-24 season and 29 games with the Birmingham Squadron of the NBA G League. In those 29 games, the Belleville, Illinois, native averaged 17.4 points, 7.9 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.8 blocks in 26.3 minutes (.504 FG%, .787 FT%). Drafted with the 41st overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, and signed to a two-way contract on Oct. 16, 2022, Liddell missed the entire 2022-23 season with a torn ACL.

A two-time First Team All-Big Ten selection, Liddell appeared in 92 games (61 starts) across three collegiate seasons at Ohio State, registering 14.1 points, 6.1 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.6 blocks in 26.4 minutes (.480 FG%, .341 3FG%, .749 FT%). He finished his Buckeye career with the seventh-most blocks in program history (143) and was one of 33 players in program history with over 1,000 career points and 500 career rebounds.

Nance Jr. appeared in 61 games in 2023-24, tallying 5.7 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.0 steal in 19.9 minutes (.573 FG%, .415 3FG%, .770 FT%). He scored his 4,000th career point on April 14 against the Los Angeles Lakers, becoming the 29th active player to record over 4,000 points (4,001), 3,000 rebounds (3,238), 950 assists (979), 600 steals (601) and 250 blocks (255).

Selected by the Los Angeles Lakers with the No. 27 overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, Nance Jr. has seen action in 522 games (134 starts) over the course of his nine-year career, suiting up for the Lakers, Cleveland Cavaliers, Portland Trail Blazers and New Orleans Pelicans. He owns career averages of 7.7 points, 6.2 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.2 steals in 23.2 minutes of play (.540 FG%, .342 3FG%, .696 FT%). In 30 career playoff games, the 6-8 forward has notched 5.9 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 17.4 minutes (.629 FG%).

A native of Akron, Ohio, the 2014-15 Mountain West Conference Defensive Player of the Year enjoyed a four-year collegiate career at Wyoming (2011-15), appearing in 123 games (89 starts), averaging 11.3 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.1 blocks in 29.5 minutes (.521 FG%, .771 FT%).

Zeller, an 11-year NBA veteran, has appeared in 552 career games (275 starts), averaging 7.9 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 20.9 minutes, suiting up for Charlotte, Portland, Miami and New Orleans. Last season with the Pelicans, the Indiana University product compiled 1.8 points and 2.6 rebounds in 7.4 minutes, playing in 43 contests.

He was selected with the fourth overall pick of the 2013 NBA Draft by Charlotte.

Murray was acquired by the Hawks on June 30, 2022, from the San Antonio Spurs. In his two seasons with Atlanta, he recorded 21.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 1.5 steals in 36.0 minutes (.462 FG%, .355 3FG%, .810 FT%). Murray became the first player in franchise history to average at least 20.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists in multiple seasons and currently ranks 15th in made three-pointers in club history (334).