The Atlanta Hawks are reshaping their backcourt by sending guard Dejounte Murray to the New Orleans Pelicans according to reports.
Murray, who was acquired by the Hawks on June 30th 2022, will now slot in alongside CJ McCollum in the Big Easy, with Jordan Hawkins and Jose Alvarado serving as back ups. The acquisition brings better balance to the Pelicans roster, which will now see McCollum slide back to his better suited shooting-guard role.
Heading back to Atlanta in the deal is forward Larry Nance Jr., E.J. Liddell, Dyson Daniels, a 2025 first round pick and a 2027 first round selection.
Murray averaged a career high 22.5pts per game last season, to go along with 5.3reb/6.4ast/1.4stl per contest. While offence has never been an issue for the speedy 27 year old, his fit alongside Trae Young caused significant defensive issues for Atlanta. The Hawks gave up the most points per game (120.5), and allowed the 2nd highest opponent field goal percentage (49.5) and points allowed per 100 possessions to the competition in 2023-24.
The former Spur signed a 4 year, $114M extension with the Hawks after being traded which is set to kick in this season. He’ll count for $28.279M against the cap in 2024-25 and features a player option for 2027-28. As currently structured, the Pelicans acquire an asset under team control for the foreseeable future.
After picking up Alvarado’s team option on Friday, the Pelicans now have 12 players under contract and sit $8.5M below the first apron of the salary cap. However questions continue to surround the future of versatile wing Brandon Ingram who is entering the last season of his current deal.
The former Laker’s name has been buoyed about in possible trade scenarios for the better part of the offseason thus far.
Photo: Erik Drost. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.