Hawks Are Expected to Explore Dejounte Murray Trade and the Raptors Should Make a Call

The Toronto Raptors should consider trading for Dejounte Murray is the Atlanta Hawks do make the 27-year-old guard available at the trade deadline

The Toronto Raptors have made it clear there’s no appetite for a drawn-out rebuild in Toronto.

Save for the ‘Tampa Tank,’ Toronto has opted to build from the middle. The goal is to develop a winning culture and grow by playing hard rather than bottoming out for lottery picks. It hasn’t exactly worked perfectly lately, but no plan is foolproof, just ask the Detroit Pistons.

That strategy is what makes the possibility of trading for someone like Dejounte Murray so interesting for a team like Toronto. The Atlanta Hawks are expected to consider moving the former All-Star ahead of the trade deadline, per Marc Stein of Substack, and the Raptors make some sense as a potential landing spot.

It’s believed Toronto had discussions about a Murray-for-Pascal Siakam deal in the summer before talks fizzled and Murray signed an extension to stay with the Hawks. It’s unclear what the entire deal would have looked like or if talks ever got far, but Atlanta has long been interested in acquiring Siakam, and that interest hasn’t fizzled.

Murray isn’t eligible to be traded until Jan. 5, six months after signing his extension, but once that restriction is lifted, trade calls are expected as Murray’s fit alongside Trae Young hasn’t worked out as planned. Atlanta is 12-18 this season and currently on the outside of the play-in picture.

For Toronto, Murray would easily slide into the Raptors starting lineup and provide some much-needed high-end guard play. He’s averaging 20.2 points, 5.3 assists, and 4.5 rebounds while shooting 37.4% from three-point range, the best number since his rookie season. Most notable, he's connecting on 41% of his pull-up threes this year, the sixth-best of anyone with at least 70 pull-up three-point attempts. Even last year in a down shooting season for Murray, the 6-foot-5 guard nailed 36.4% of his pull-up threes, an above-average number.

The 27-year-old Murray isn’t going to put the Raptors over the edge, but he’s the kind of player who would fit better alongside Scottie Barnes and help Toronto continue to build from the middle. His age, just 27 years old, and his contract, a team-friendly $114 million over four years with a player option, make him an intriguing player for a team like Toronto if the goal is to avoid a full rebuild.

The hiccup in a Murray-for-Siakam deal is their contracts don’t match and the Hawks would have to throw in an additional $17.8 million of salary which isn’t particularly easy with their roster makeup. This makes a deal with Toronto unlikely, but if Murray is going to be moved this year, the Raptors are certainly a team that should poke around to see what it would cost to get him.