Landry Fields Does Not See The Dejounte Murray Trade As A Failure: "We would definitely take that risk again."

Atlanta traded Murray to the Pelicans for Dyson Daniels, Larry Nance, E.J. Liddell, Cody Zeller, and two first round picks

Apr 14, 2024; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Dejounte Murray (5) in the first half against the Indiana Pacers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports / Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

The Hawks had a decision to make this offseason when it comes to their backcourt. Two years after making a blockbuster move to land Murray from the San Antonio Spurs, a deal that included trading four first-round picks for him, the Hawks moved Murray to New Orleans for Dyson Daniels, Larry Nance, E.J. Liddell, Cody Zeller, and two first-round picks. The Hawks got back some of the value that they got for Murray, but not all. Atlanta still does not control its own first-round picks for the 2025, 2026, and 2027 drafts. Atlanta made the playoffs in their first season with Murray and lost to the Boston Celtics in six games. The Hawks did not make the playoffs last year. Trae Young and Murray never seemed to mesh on the court and it felt inevitable that one of them needed to be moved this offseason.

Despite paying a hefty price tag and getting little to no results after the Murray trade, Hawks general manager Landry Fields did not see the trade as a failure:

"Not at all. Absolutely not. I look at it as at the time, we had an opportunity to go get a good player and where we are at we wanted to take a chance and take a chance to get to the next level of what we were trying to do. I think that at this point its kinda what I said earlier, we were faced with another challenging decision in moving him but no I don't see it as a failure at all especially when you look at, ok, what are some things that we learned from that, what are some things that worked well, what are some things that did not work out well? But I think going back, we would definitely take that risk again."

Giving up as much as they did and only having one (very short) playoff appearance, it is hard to categorize this as anything but a failure. The Hawks are in worse position because of this trade and are going to have to hope for their young players like Zaccharie Risacher, Jalen Johnson, Kobe Bufkin, and Dyson Daniels to step up alongside Trae Young.

When asked about Daniels and what made him a great fit for the Hawks, here is what Fields had to say:

"His defensive versatility is something that really stands out. His shooting has gotten better, it is something that we think can get an uptick in him as time goes on with his development. So, we are able to help him stay the course defensively and then give him some offensive adjustments there."

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."