Trae Young, Dejounte Murray's Future Among The Top 10 Storylines Of The NBA Offseason

Jackson Caudell | May 21, 2024

Oct 30, 2023; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks guards Trae Young (11) and Dejounte Murray (5) / Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

The Atlanta Hawks are going to be front and center in a lot of discussions this offseason. While they would rather be contending for an NBA title, the Hawks are going to have a chance to reshape their roster and that is helped by landing the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft Lottery. One of the questions that Atlanta is going to have to answer in the next five weeks is what they do with the No. 1 pick, but the biggest question is going to be what happens with the backcourt duo of Dejounte Murray and Trae Young.

NBA insider Shams Charania spoke about the future of Young and the Hawks on Fanduel TV's Run it Back last week:

"For the No. 1 pick, their decision is going to be, do you go big with a guy like Alex Sarr or do you go more on the guard front, there are a few options there as well. The elephant in the room of course is going to be what is the future of Trae Young and Dejounte Murray. Trae Young has said it publicly and privately that he wants to win and he is going to be entering the back half, of entering closer to year 10 of his career than he just started. It is crazy, we think of Trae Young being so young, but he is at a stage where he wants to win.

You see players like Tyrese Haliburton, De'Aaron Fox, Luka Doncic, continually competing and making more and more names for themselves, winning more and season games, and if Trae Young does not see or feel like the Hawks are constructing a winner or a team that really has a chance in the Eastern Conference, you see teams like New York, you see teams like Indiana making runs to the second round, to the conference finals, Trae Young surely feels like the Hawks should be in that position.

They are going to have real conversations if he believes that they are not trying to construct a true winner around him and that dialogue and those talks are going to happen this week at the combine, next week and the weeks to come leading up to the NBA Draft. Clearly, that pairing between Trae Young and Dejounte Murray has not worked. They have already looked into moving Dejounte Murray and kept him at the trade deadline. Which guard do they end up looking down that path and I think that is going to be the big question for the Hawks leading up to the draft."

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— Jon⚡️ (@JonHoopz) May 13, 2024

Bleacher Report's Zach Buckley listed the future of Murray/Young as one of the headlines that will dominate the offseason:

"The Atlanta Hawks might be unrecognizable in a matter of months. Maybe sooner.

They haven't necessarily committed to a top-to-bottom reset, but following two first-round exits with a lottery appearance has essentially moved this entire nucleus to the trade block.

Clint Capela and De'Andre Hunter have long held residence there, and the plug could be pulled on the backcourt pairing of Trae Young and Dejounte Murray at any moment.

"The most likely scenario...continues to be that Atlanta trades one of its two star guards before next season," NBA insider Marc Stein said in April.

Young and Murray don't need more minutes together to know this isn't working. They logged nearly 1,200 alongside one another this season—and lost them by a staggering 6.5 points per 100 possessions.

That shouldn't do too much damage to their individual trade values, though. Young is an all-purpose playmaker who almost guarantees his team a top-10 attack. Murray just twice averaged 20-plus points and six-plus assists while operating as the second-in-command and previously earned All-Defensive first-team honors.

The Hawks should get a haul for either one, and their trade partner would realistically think they just landed a difference-maker."

It seems likely that Atlanta is going to move one of their guards, but which one remains the mystery. I have said that I would keep Young and build around of him, Jalen Johnson, and the No. 1 pick, which I would use on Alex Sarr. The Hawks could then trade Murray, Clint Capela, and possibly De'Andre Hunter for more assets to build around that core of players, as well as promising second-year players Kobe Bufkin and Mouhamed Gueye. Onyeka Okongwu's future might also be in doubt if the Hawks take Sarr, but that will be something that they have to figure out if they take Sarr, which is not certain.

The Hawks have reportedly already been shopping Capela.

NBA insider Mark Stein reported that the Atlanta Hawks center is "likely bound for the trade market" this offseason.

Capela has been awesome for the Hawks ever since they acquired him in February of 2020 for next to nothing in a four-team deal that involved the Hawks, Rockets, Nuggets, and Timberwolves. He should have gotten more love as a defensive player of the year candidate in the 2020-2021 season and has been the anchor for Atlanta on the defensive end, a place where they have struggled. He has been the perfect lob threat for Trae Young in the pick-and-roll and goes underappreciated amongst many for his impact on the team.