On Wednesday night, news emerged that the San Antonio Spurs had traded point guard Dejounte Murray to the Atlanta Hawks for Danilio Gallinari, 3 first round picks, and one first round pick swap.

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So why did the Hawks mortgage a big portion of their future on Murray?

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The 25 year old had a breakout season in 2021/22, averaging a near triple double across 68 games- 21.2 points, 8.3 rebounds, 9.2 assists and 2.0 steals. All were career highs as Murray became an All-Star for the first time in his career, while leading the entire NBA in steals.

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Some will say he is a one season wonder but Murray has improved every year he has been in the league and last season was more than enough to convince Atlanta that he was the perfect star to pair with Trae Young.

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The Hawks had a disappointing 2021/22 season after reaching the conference finals the previous season. The team finished 9th in the Eastern Conference with a 43-39 record and just scraped by the Cleveland Cavaliers to reach the playoffs via the play-in. But their experience was short lived as they were eliminated by the Miami Heat in five games.

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Defence was arguably the biggest problem for Atlanta, ranking 26th in the NBA in defensive rating & Dejounte Murray certainly improves the team on that end of the court. Murray has developed into a two way threat, ranking 20th in the league in overall +/- last season. At 6'4 he is a sturdy defender, with a 6'10 wingspan, who has been recognised for his defensive ability before, being a former All-Defensive honoree back in 2018.

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Murray & his new back court partner Trae Young both like to have the ball in their hands and control games but this is a great chance for Young to develop his off-ball game while being able to get better opportunities to score. And with defence being a huge hole in Young's game the arrival of Murray will help to cover Trae's frailties.

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The problem with the trade is that Atlanta has given up a big chunk of their future and it doesn't complete their team. John Collins & Clint Capela have been actively mentioned in trade talks and while Murray does improve the team, he is far from the final piece of the puzzle. The Hawks are still a couple of pieces short of the likes of Miami, Boston, Milwaukee, Brooklyn & Philadelphia, without the star power of those teams.

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This trade could prove a disaster for the Hawks but they are showing belief in their star (Trae Young) and are trying to build a team around him capable of competing. In order to do that sometimes you have to take risks. Dejounte Murray improves the team but without more moves they will most likely be in a battle to secure a playoff spot next season.

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(Photo- Daniel Dunn-USA TODAY Sports)