Trade Reaction: Dejounte Murray to New Orleans
With free agency right around the corner, the Pelicans struck early to add a new piece to their core. It’s a move that seems like it will spark additional trades for each team: Let’s break it down.
NEW ORLEANS PELICANS
IN: G Dejounte Murray
OUT: G Dyson Daniels, C/F Larry Nance Jr., F E.J. Liddell, 2025 1st rd. pick (via LAL), 2027 1st rd. pick (least favorable of NOP or MIL)
Pelicans’ GM David Griffin promised change to the fanbase following the team’s disappointing close to the ‘23-24 season, and this move is the first step towards delivering on that promise. As the roster stands right now, Murray is far from a perfect fit. His defense has slipped over the past couple seasons, and pairing him with another small guard in C.J. McCollum could create some issues, particularly given that the Pels don’t have a ton of rim protection behind them. On the offensive end, a lot of what Murray does best overlaps with Brandon Ingram, as both players prefer to play on the ball and work from the mid-range. Murray’s ability to shoot off the catch has improved a ton since he first came into the league, but he’s still not an amazing floor spacer for Zion Williamson, especially if New Orleans is also playing Ingram, Herb Jones and a non-shooting center.
Despite all of the above, I like this move a lot for the Pelicans. First off, I believe they won this trade from a pure asset value perspective. The 2025 Lakers’ first profiles as a mid-round pick, and the 2027 first is probably going to be towards the back of the round, given the least favorable language. Dyson Daniels is a prospect with some intrigue, but his lack of shooting has kept him off the court in New Orleans to this point in his career, and New Orleans has other players who can replicate his perimeter defense, which is the best part of his game. The second reason why this makes sense to me is that it gives the Pelicans a lot more optionality as they explore Brandon Ingram trades. I view Murray and Ingram as similarly-tiered players, but the big difference between the two is their contractual situation. Ingram is entering the final year of his current contract, and is reportedly seeking a max extension for 30% of the salary cap, which the Pelicans are (rightfully) hesitant to give. Murray, on the other hand, is under team control for the next three seasons at a reasonable rate ($28.2M, $30.3M, $32.3M). By paying Murray ~$30M instead of Ingram the ~$45-50M it would have taken to keep him, the Pels will be getting close to the same production for far less money. Additionally, with Murray playing Ingram’s role from the backcourt, New Orleans can theoretically start both Herb Jones and Trey Murphy, which gives them a better balance of defense and shooting on the wing, and alleviates some of the fit issues that arose between Ingram and Zion Williamson.
Prior to this move, if New Orleans was going to trade Ingram, they had to get win-now players in return. While the most preferable scenario is still probably to get a starting center in return for Ingram, they no longer have to find a center and replace Ingram’s secondary shot creation. The Pels could simply restock their draft capital in an Ingram trade, and/or focus on clearing salary.
Trade Grade: Incomplete pending what happens with Ingram, but I’m cautiously optimistic
ATLANTA HAWKS:
IN: G Dyson Daniels, C/F Larry Nance Jr., F E.J. Liddell, 2025 1st rd. pick (via LAL), 2027 1st rd. pick (least favorable of NOP or MIL)
OUT: Dejounte Murray
Just because I think New Orleans did well doesn’t mean this is unequivocally a bad move for Atlanta. However, I am surprised that this was the best offer the Hawks could generate for Murray, as between his production and contractual status, I would have thought there would have been multiple teams willing to top this package.
It seems likely that the Hawks have at least a couple more trades to make, as it seems unlikely that all of Trae Young, Clint Capela, Bogdan Bogdanovic and De’Andre Hunter are still on this team by the start of the ‘24-25 season. It’s possible that they were willing to take a chance on a player (Daniels) in this trade over grabbing another draft asset because they have other deals lined up that are going to net them picks. Even if they don’t make any moves, Daniels helps their backcourt defense, which is always a struggle around Young. However, if Young is on the team, Daniels figures to spend the majority of his time off the ball, which is where his shooting deficiencies will really be exploited. Maybe Atlanta is able to get more out of Daniels than we’ve seen so far, in which case this trade looks a lot better. However, I think he profiles as more of a solid reserve, and given that he’s already entering year 3 and will be extension eligible as soon as next summer, I probably would have preferred a third first rounder, or at least picks with higher upside than the two the Hawks received.
TRADE GRADE: C+