Analyst Proposes Intriguing Dejounte Murray, Orlando Magic Trade Package

The Atlanta Hawks are entering into one of the most critical offseasons in franchise history. They failed to make the playoffs for the first time since the 2020 season ended in the bubble and they are seemingly at a crossroads with the pairing of Dejounte Murray and Trae Young.

Ever since trading multiple first round picks to get Murray, the results have not been what the Hawks envisioned. Atlanta performs better when only one of them is on the court and most around the NBA seem to think that Atlanta is going to have to make a decision between their two guards.

If Atlanta decides to keep Young and move Murray, where could they decide to send Murray? Bleacher Report's Zach Buckley has a trade idea that should be very intriguing to the Hawks. He proposes to send Murray to Orlando for a pair of first-round picks, Jalen Suggs, and Cole Anthony.

Here is what he had to say about the proposed trade:

"The Orlando Magic have found a win-pretty-soon pairing in Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner. However, their ceiling will be capped until they find a way to add more oomph to their 22nd-ranked offense.

Murray could provide that lift. He's been second-in-command to Young in Atlanta over the past two seasons, but Murray has averaged 21.5 points, 6.3 assists and 5.3 rebounds per game. For reference, Banchero paced the Magic with 22.6 points, 6.9 rebounds and 5.4 assists. In other words, Murray could walk into a 1A-1B partnership with Banchero, allowing Wagner to fall into the tertiary role he's perhaps better equipped to handle.

The Hawks, meanwhile, might accept a package featuring a pair of first-round picks, Jalen Suggs and Cole Anthony. That package is a bit backcourt-heavy for a Young-led team, but Suggs could be the backcourt stopper whom Young desperately needs alongside him, and Anthony could keep the offense humming when Young needs a breather. Atlanta's offense was 3.4 points worse per 100 possessions without him, and that was actually on the low end of his annual on-off splits."

I think this is an intriguing trade idea for the Hawks and I proposed a similar one just a few days ago.

If you have watched Orlando in their first two games of their series vs Cleveland, you can see how badly they need playmaking and offense from the guard positions. I think there could be a trade between the Hawks and the Magic because they both have the type of players that the other needs.

I think this trade would help both teams. Suggs is the kind of point of attack defender that the Hawks need alongside Trae Young and Suggs is one of the best in the NBA, as well as being a good three-point shooter. Getting more draft picks would help acquire other players to improve the roster. I don't know how interested the Hawks would be in Cole Anthony, unless they traded Bogdan Bogdanovic, which I don't think is something they are actively trying to do. The Hawks also have Kobe Bufkin, who is going into his second year and they will want to make him a bigger part of the rotation.

I think the other piece to this trade for Atlanta should be Jonathan Isaac, who is one of the best defenders in the NBA. I don't know if Orlando is going to be willing to give him and Suggs both up, but their need for a playmaking guard who can lead the offense is dire. If I am the Hawks, I think Orlando is an ideal trade partner and I think they should pursue both Suggs and Isaac.