If you told me he was a top 15 player, sure I'd agree he's overrated. Top 20, maybe still. But the Hawks brought him on to be a number 2 to Trae. They know the heliocentric offence thing doesn't work anymore, even Luka moved off it a bit. They gave up a shitty CHA pick and 2 future unprotected 1sts. I think that's about the right value. No one's said ATL was a championship favorite or anything. All star level players are very very good even without being MVP candidates.
He's more similar to Jrue than he is Westbrook. All three are inefficient scorers and below average shooters (in their careers), but Murray and Jrue both play exceptional defense and do all the little things to help teams win. Neither takes a ton of bad shots or commit a lot of turnovers. Murray avg 9+ assists and just over 2 turnovers last season. His fit with Trae and his shooting is a concern, but Murray's a good player that will help the Hawks defense/team culture. Furthermore if Trae commits to playing more off-ball, having Murray could also help their offense by relieving Trae of so much responsibilities.
I would laugh my ass off if all these teams tank like crazy and KD and Kyrie are injured for a while, the Nets end up with a bad record and the no. 1 pick and we make the playoffs, but go...SWAP...and end up with Victor.
Textbook buy low sell high move. Only problem is that Murray is someone you can build a franchise around. I don't get it unless they just felt like Murray deserved better based on their rebuild timeline. Parlay the 29th pick into three similar picks and a first round swap. Pure numbers, that's what you want from player development if you don't build around those diamonds in the late rounds. I think the Hawks are thinking they like what Memphis and Dallas are doing with strong PG depth and they are mirroring their moves. The Spurs? They obviously realize that their young bloods need a few years to develop and don't want to do Murray dirty like that.
I agree Murray is a better defender, and obviously less turnover-prone than WB. But Jrue made a serious jump in offensive efficiency in 2017, this is the reason Jrue got the return he did, he already became an effeicnet offensive player, Murray is still a question mark and never posted anything close to a league-average efficiency season. Jrue lately, has been shooting nearly 40% from 3 on over 2 makes a game. It's possible but this career arc of Jrue's will be a very tough one to follow. And, different from the Bucks, Giannis is a large forward who allows Jrue to still be the primary ball handler. Trae at 6'1 165 really NEEDS that spacing, he does not have the size to go over crowding defenses, and is an elite floor general who should not defer to Murray. Murray will run the offense and be great for the 10 minutes Trae is off the floor, but what happens when it's time to close the game? Murray will be in the corner. 2 unprotected 1st and a unprotected swap, from a team that isn't making the playoffs right now is an incredible risk for a player with the fit questionability of Murray, who also will be a UFA in 2 years, perhaps demanding a max contract.
spurs in perfect spot to cannibalize bad salary for picks ala the Thunder rebuild for next 2-3 seasons. i can easily see pops giving tyus jones 4-40.
My understanding is that the Hawks want someone else to handle the ball because they believe Trae has untapped potential as an off-ball shooter. As their team stood before this trade, however, Trae had to handle the ball because nobody else could. This trade remedies that gap in their roster. Trae will still have plenty of possessions where he's got the rock in his hands (especially when Murray sits). Great trade for the Hawks - I would have loved to seen Murray on the Rockets to replace KPJ (even though I haven't fully given up on the kid).
Agree with your points about some fit questions with Murray and Trae and I'm not saying this is a huge certain win for the Hawks, but comparing Murray to Westbrook is unfair IMO. Prior to joining the Bucks & Giannis, Jrue had one season at or above league average efficiency in 2018 (102 TS+). The other 10 season he was around 93 to 99 TS+ which is better than Murray, but he was also playing with AD. The Hawks basically traded two unprotected picks that are likely to be in the bottom half of the draft. The Hawks are very likely to be a playoff team as they have been the past two seasons. Furthermore with all the young talent they have in 2 or 3 years they should be better rather than worst since their best players are all under 27.
Watch we get punished for being last place last 2 years and next year we win a few more and punished again while SA rewarded for last place with the #1. May as well just aim for play in, lose and slap each other on the ass and tell each other "there's always next year" and "were building a winning culture!" while Popovich slams his nuts on Silvers dresser and builds another dynasty with Wemby. Pop knows what's up with the Wemby sweepstakes. We have to compete to not compete in order to compete for the real prize!!
I don't disagree with the idea that there is a better time to bottom out than others. However, the Westbrook trade essentially picked these 3 years as the only years for Rockets to bottom out. Rockets are about to go out rolling with a bunch of 19 and 20 year old kids. They'll still organically be in the sweepstakes. *I am not advocating losing on purpose at all and never have btw.
Add another team to the Wemby sweepstake. And Anti tankers tell me tanking is useless. Spurs r now doing it. Watch them somehow get wemby and smash our a$$ for the next few seasons.
If trae sees a drop in his scoring average he might not make all nba or the all star team because the media doesn’t like him. He cares about that stuff. I expect coach Nate to stagger Murray and trae so they can both get their numbers like the 2018 rockets
