After a disappointing early playoff exit in 2022, the Atlanta Hawks realized that changes were required if they are to be contenders in the top-heavy Eastern Conference. They surprisingly made it all the way to the Conference Finals in 2021 but lost to the Bucks even with Giannis Antetokounmpo missing the last two games, and then this year, the Heat just hounded Trae Young, and the Hawks had no one else stepping up.
That led to them trading for All-Star guard Dejounte Murray from the San Antonio Spurs to form a formidable backcourt pairing that can go toe-to-toe with anybody in the league. Trae, who was very excited by this acquisition, recently spoke about the two of them teaming up in an interview with Yahoo Sports and said it’s going to be a problem for the rest of the NBA.
via Yahoo Sports:
“Yeah, I mean that’s kind of scary, if you think about it. I mean, I think people don’t really understand, I mean, how dynamic of a backcourt that can be, I mean, with two guys who can score. I mean, both can score 20 plus. Both can get nine plus assists a game. You can’t really double one or the other, and if you do, you really pick your poison, because we have other weapons around. So it’s gonna be a fun season, and I think, I mean, having another guard, like Dejounte, who can playmake and that sort of thing, it’s gonna to be good for us.”
Murray’s presence will definitely help next season as teams won’t be able to focus all of their efforts on Young, as the Hawks now have a second star on the court who can score consistently or be an elite facilitator. The two of them also help cover the other’s weakness, as Dejounte is a great defender who struggles with shooting from beyond the arc, while Trae is the exact opposite.
Young also opened up about playing against Stephen Curry during this interview, and he would be hoping that he can one day have the kind of success with the Hawks that Curry has had with the Warriors.
