Philadelphia 76ers Listed As a Potential Surprise Landing Spot For Hawks Guard Dejounte Murray

Will the Hawks Trade Dejounte Murray this offseason?

Jan 10, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Dejounte Murray (5) is defended by Philadelphia 76ers forward Nicolas Batum (40) in the first quarter at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports / Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

One of the biggest weeks of the NBA offseason is here. The 2024 NBA Draft is on Wednesday night and there is always a potential for trades to go down this week as well. Atlanta has to figure out what to do with the Trae Young/Dejounte Murray backcourt, as well as other veteran players such as Clint Capela and De'Andre Hunter. This team could look much different by the time the season tips off in October. There have been a lot of teams mentioned for Dejounte Murray, but one that has not been mentioned much or really at all is the Philadelphia 76ers.

While the Hawks might be one of the most interesting teams to watch this offseason, that also applies to the 76ers. Philadelphia has a lot of cap room to operate with this summer and it will be interesting to see how they fill their team out around Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. If there is a big name available in free agency, don't be surprised if Philadelphia is connected to them.

Paul George could be the best free agent on the market and he was being heavily linked to the Philadelphia 76ers, but that does not look like it is going to be an option.

The Philadelphia 76ers' interest in pursuing Paul George has significantly waned in recent days, and the franchise is expected to be aggressive elsewhere with its salary cap flexibility and draft capital leading into next week’s NBA Draft, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 20, 2024

If George does go elsewhere, where could the 76ers turn? Could Hawks guard Dejounte Murray turn into an option? When mentioning surprise landing spots for the top trade targets, Bleacher Report's Greg Swartz listed Philadelphia as an option for Murray:

"If the Philadelphia 76ers don't land a superstar like LeBron James, Paul George or Jimmy Butler this summer, Dejounte Murray would be a nice consolation prize.

Think of Murray as a bigger, better version of De'Anthony Melton, a two-way guard who played well off of Tyrese Maxey. The Sixers had a net rating of plus-12.1 when Melton shared the court with Maxey, a number that fell all the way plus-1.9 when Melton was off the floor, per Cleaning the Glass.

Letting Murray operate as the lead ball-handler for stretches opens up more off-ball opportunities for Maxey, who hit a blistering 44.4 percent of his catch-and-shoot threes last season.

Atlanta could use the extra salary relief and draft picks from Philadelphia given that they are projected to be $4.5 million over the luxury tax this year and still owe picks in 2025 and 2027 to the San Antonio Spurs from the original Murray deal. Moving Murray into the 76ers cap space would open up the full non-taxpayer mid-level exception of $12.9 million to use in free agency this summer.

The Hawks would be set up for another big trade to put pieces around Trae Young and Jalen Johnson, especially with more first-round picks coming from the Sixers in this deal."

I do think the 76ers would be an interesting fit for Murray. Would the 76ers be afraid that he would not fit with Maxey? Maxey and Young are different players, but Philadlephia could be worried about him playing with another small guard.

The trade package would also be interesting because Philadelphia quite literally does not have any players to trade back expect those two. Would Atlanta just take picks back from Philly in exchange for Murray? Would a third team have to be included? Those are things that would have to be considered.

This could be a week in which there is a lot of movement around the league. Buckle up.