“We would definitely take that risk again.”

The Hawks had to make a decision this offseason regarding their backline. Two years after making a blockbuster trade to get Murray from the San Antonio Spurs, a deal that included trading four first-round picks for him, the Hawks dealt Murray to New Orleans for Dyson Daniels, Larry Nance, EJ Liddell, Cody Zeller and two first-round picks. The Hawks got back some of the value they got for Murray, but not all of it. Atlanta still doesn’t control its own first-round picks for the 2025, 2026 and 2027 drafts. Atlanta made the playoffs in its first season with Murray and lost to the Boston Celtics in six games. The Hawks didn’t make the playoffs last year. Trae Young and Murray never seemed to mesh on the court, and it seemed inevitable that one of them would have to be traded this offseason.

Despite the high price paid and the minimal results obtained after the Murray trade, Hawks general manager Landry Fields did not consider the trade a failure:

“Not at all. Absolutely not. I think at the time we had the opportunity to go get a good player and where we’re at, we wanted to take a chance and take it to the next level of what we were trying to do. I think at that point, it’s kind of what I said earlier, we were faced with another tough decision in moving him, but no, I don’t see it as a failure at all, especially when you look at, okay, what are the things that we learned from this, what are the things that worked well, what are the things that didn’t work well? But I think looking back, we would definitely take that risk again.”

After giving up so much and only making the playoffs once (very briefly), it’s hard to call this anything but a failure. The Hawks are in an even tougher position because of this trade and will have to hope that their young players like Zaccharie Risacher, Jalen Johnson, Kobe Bufkin and Dyson Daniels step up to the plate alongside Trae Young.

When asked about Daniels and what made him a great fit for the Hawks, here’s what Fields had to say:

“His defensive versatility is something that really stands out. His shot has improved, which is something we think can improve over time as he develops. So we’re able to help him stay the course defensively and make some adjustments offensively.”

When asked what went into the decision to trade Murray, here’s what Fields had to say:

“We’re just evaluating where we’re at. It was a tough decision, it was a challenge, we knew where we wanted to be, we were going to have to make some tough decisions, we weren’t at the point where we felt like we could continue with what we had, so we wanted to reshape some things and that’s an unfortunate part of the business. Dejounte is a fantastic player and we’re excited for him and his journey in New Orleans and we’re also really happy for the guys that we got back. We also got some assets back that are going to be useful to us. We wish him nothing but the best, he and his family have been nothing but great to us.”