Trade Grades: Pelicans Land Dejounte Murray From Hawks

Trade Grades: Pelicans Land Dejounte Murray From Hawks

The Dejounte Murray experiment failed in Atlanta… shocker!

The Hawks are trading the former Spurs guard to the New Orleans Pelicans in exchange for two first round picks (a 2025 selection via the Los Angeles Lakers and a 2027 selection, the least favorable from either the Milwaukee Bucks or New Orleans’ own), Larry Nance, Dyson Daniels, and EJ Liddell.

Who won the trade? That’s why you’re here… duh. Here are your trade grades. As always feel free to comment.

Atlanta Hawks: Grade D

This trade sucks for the Hawks. This franchise is turning into a circus.

Hold up.

Let me grab this.

Play this video while you read the rest.

First, Atlanta takes a French guy nobody thought was good that played in that league.

Now they trade Murray away for half of what they paid for him. Look at the package from the first deal. What are they really getting this go around? A Lakers pick from a team that’s going to be more competitive this year and a 2027 pick that’s LEAST favorable? Larry Nance can jump but what else does he bring to the table? Dyson Daniels was never going to crack this rotation. We’re two years in and he’s averaging 5.8 points per game with bad three point shooting numbers.

To give up one of the few guards in the league who actually guards at a high level for that price is comically bad. This is a sell low because Trae Young has no self awareness. How else can you describe it? Murray, 27, is about to enter his prime too.

New Orleans Pelicans: Grade A-

Love the deal for New Orleans. How do you not like it? This feels like when they got Jrue Holiday from Philadelphia. Then they sold him off for way more. Are we living in a time loop?

Anyway… Murray averaged 22.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 6.4 assists last year per game. He feels like a great fit next to CJ McCollum who can hit shots from 3. He also adds some needed toughness to a team that could use way more of it.

Also, New Orleans still has two first round picks in each draft through 2027. I’m not joking. They traded two picks but had plenty in the cupboard. The key to this deal will be finding a way to re-sign Brandon Ingram at a rate that isn’t the max. Adding Murray adds more money to their books. If they lose Ingram as part of this deal, I’m not sure how they’re better. That’s the only reason I’m downgrading it a tad to an A-

This feels like highway robbery. To run a potential starting 5 of Murray, McCollum, Ingram, Zion, and (still need a center). You’re working with something there. Especially with a strong bench of Trey Murphy and Herb Jones.

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