The Atlanta Hawks had high expectations entering the 2023-24 season. They were fresh off of a competitive series against the Boston Celtics where they pushed them to six games. They also had an entire offseason to learn and implement head coach Quin Snyder's philosophies and tendencies to go with a second year figuring out the Trae Young and Dejounte Murray backcourt pairing. But things have not gone as planned. The Hawks are 22-28 on the year, good for 10th in the Eastern Conference and a long way away from out of the Play-In tournament. They now look like the preeminent sellers to watch at the NBA trade deadline.
Atlanta is six games behind the sixth-seeded Indiana Pacers and 4.5 games behind both the Orlando Magic and Miami Heat for the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference. It seems more likely than not that the Hawks' ceiling is the bottom half of the Play-In tournament. If they even make it out of there, their reward is the Boston Celtics who beat them last year and have only gotten better this season. The Hawks should be selling at the deadline and build for the future. The nightmare scenario would be that they don't.
Hawks don't trade Dejounte Murray
It's almost never a bad thing to not trade good players, and that is what Dejounte Murray is. But, in this case, the Hawks should be pressing the eject button. It just hasn't worked with Dejounte Murray and Trae Young in Atlanta for whatever reason. Maybe both just need the ball in their hands so much that they haven't been able to thrive when the other doesn't have it. Regardless, things haven't worked, and the data backs it up.
Last season, the Hawks had a +1.6 net rating when both Young and Murray were on the floor at the same time according to Cleaning the Glass. While that was not spectacular by any means, at least the Hawks could tell themselves those two needed more time to gel. But, time hasn't served them or the Hawks well at all. That net rating has dropped to -4.6 this season. When those two are on the floor, the Hawks are only better than teams that are tanking.
It isn't working here, and things need to change before the Hawks take on the four-year, $114 million extension Murray is set for beginning next season. Maybe the Hawks could wait until the summer and trade Young for more than what they can get for Murray now, but Young is their homegrown star who helps put fans in seats. That's a tough sell. They traded three first-round picks for Murray. They might not be able to recoup all of those picks, but getting one or two and an exciting young player is better than keeping this train of mediocrity going.
Hawks also keep Clint Capela
Clint Capela is a fine player, but the Hawks already have an upgrade on Capela waiting in the wings. That would be Onyeka Okongwu, whom the Hawks selected seventh overall in the 2020 NBA Draft. Okongwu has shot better from the field than Capela has in three of the four seasons they have been teammates, and Okongwu has even showcased a three-ball this season. He is 20-58 from deep this 2023-24. Capela, however, has two 3-point attempts in his four-year stint in Atlanta.
Okongwu has a wide skillset than Capela does offensively and has more versatility defensively. It's time for the Hawks to put that skillset on both ends on full display. If Atlanta can find a taker for Capela and shed the $22 million he is slated to earn next season, they should make that deal happen.
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