Hawks: Trae Young’s trade value could shock fans

The first domino of the offseason fell last night when the Hawks selected Zaccharie Risacher with the No. 1 overall pick in the draft. Otherwise, there were no biggies from Landry Fields and the rest of the Atlanta front office. However, most believe those will come sooner rather than later, as all eyes are on Trae Young and Dejounte Murray.

The duo just hasn’t worked out the way the Hawks thought they would. The combination of two ball-dominant point guards was always going to be shaky, but I’m not sure anyone could have predicted how miserable the two would be together. On their own, they look like All-Stars. Together, they’re a disaster, and the sample size is now large enough for the Hawks to know they’ll never be successful.

One of them will have to be traded, but the answer to who it will be isn’t yet clear. Much will depend on what the Hawks can get for each of them. Most would expect Trae Young to get a better package, but according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks, that’s not the case. Not only did Marks say Young won’t get as much as the Nets just got for Mikal Bridges, but he also added that Dejounte Murray actually has a higher value right now.

Trae Young is not expected to fetch a trade package like Mikal Bridges or Rudy Gobert on the trade market. @BobbyMarks42

“Dejounte Murray is actually more valuable than Trae Young at this point” pic.twitter.com/uKVTzm3GDf

— NBA Central (@TheDunkCentral) 26 June 2024

This isn’t necessarily the most shocking report. I don’t think anyone disputes that Trae Young is a better player than Dejounte Murray. He has proven that he is a true All-NBA talent who has already led a team to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Still, Dejounte Murray’s contract has to be considered one of the most team-friendly in the entire Association. Guys like OG Anunoby are signing deals for over $40 million per season this offseason, while Murray signed a contract extension that will pay him less than $30 million per year for the next three seasons. That’s a bargain for an All-Star caliber talent. Meanwhile, Trae Young has just two years left on his contract and will make over $95 million over the next two seasons.

Young may be the better player, but is he $20 million a year better than Murray? I’m not so sure, and the fact that Murray is under contract for an extra year is the icing on the cake.

Not only am I not surprised that teams are choosing Dejounte Murray over Trae Young, but neither are the Hawks. Don’t be surprised if the Hawks actually choose Murray to build around in the future.

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