NBA Trade Rumors: Hawks Deal Dejounte Murray to Rockets?
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The Houston Rockets are looking for a long-term answer at the point guard position.
They may find one with the No. 4 overall pick in next month's draft, or they could use that pick to find someone a little more established, like Atlanta Hawks guard Dejounte Murray.
Murray was traded by the San Antonio Spurs to the Hawks less than a year ago for three future first-round picks, but Atlanta didn't see enough improvement as a team with him in the fold. That's part of the reason why The Athletic has proposed a deal where Murray and John Collins are acquired by the Rockets for Kevin Porter Jr., Jae’Sean Tate, K.J. Martin, the No. 4 pick in 2023, and future first-round picks in 2025 and 2027.
"It’s only contingent on the Hawks deciding to blow things up rather than wade in the Eastern Conference water," The Athletic writes. "Murray is the prize here, adding a tenacious two-way guard who immediately raises the floor and ceiling of a young team. In Collins, the Rockets get their hands on a player Atlanta clearly wants to move, someone they’ve been interested in and who can be a quality rim protector and lob threat."
Despite Atlanta's first-round exit at the hands of the Boston Celtics, Murray played well for the Hawks this season, averaging 20.5 points, 6.1 assists and 5.3 rebounds per game. The assist numbers should rise if he isn't playing next to Trae Young in the backcourt. He would be able to facilitate the offense, but whether the Rockets would succeed is a different question. Murray was unable to push the Spurs over the hump, and even with more talent on the Hawks, the first round is his ceiling so far.
Sure, the Rockets' supporting cast has an even higher ceiling than the Hawks at the moment, but to cash in all these future assets for Murray would be shortcutting the rebuild, and it's likely that Houston won't reach its final goal with this deal.
You can follow Jeremy Brener on Twitter @JeremyBrener.
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