The New Orleans Pelicans have landed All-Star point guard Dejounte Murray from the Atlanta Hawks, just days after the Hawks made the first pick in the 2024 draft.The deal is, well, quite the get for New Orleans.
They relinquished Larry Nance Jr, a solid veteran big man who is 31 and has started just 12 total games over the past three seasons, and Dyson Daniels, a soon-to-be third-year player who has upside, but hasn’t set the world on fire so far in his career.The Pelicans added two first-round selections – a 2025 first, via the Los Angeles Lakers, and a 2027 first-round pick which is the least favorable between the Pelicans themselves or the Milwaukee Bucks.
Murray, the main player involved in this trade, sits on an extremely manageable contract. He’ll account for just 17.4% of the cap this upcoming season, a percentage that will decline further as the salary cap increases in coming years.
The deal seems fairly lobsided on behalf of the Pelicans, and raises questions about what exactly the Hawks are expecting out of themselves for next season.
While it appears that Atlanta is taking a step back, and leaning into a youth movement, on the back of selecting Zaccharie Risacher first overall, there’s an odd component in play.
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