Dejounte Murray reportedly is heading to the Big Easy.
The New Orleans Pelicans acquired Murray in a trade with the Atlanta Hawks on Friday, according to multiple reports.
In exchange for Murray, the Hawks reportedly received forward Larry Nance Jr., guard Dyson Daniels and two future first-round picks. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the two firsts are in 2025 (via the Los Angeles Lakers) and in 2027 (the least favorable selection from Milwaukee and New Orleans).
The reported deal brings an end to a disappointing two-year tenure overall for Murray in Atlanta. The Hawks gave up three first-round picks and a pick swap to acquire the one-time All-Star point guard from the San Antonio Spurs in June 2022.
But the backcourt duo of Murray and Trae Young led to just one brief playoff appearance — a first-round loss in 2023 following a 41-41 regular season. The Hawks then missed the playoffs completely this past season after going 36-46.
Murray, who turns 28 in September, averaged 22.5 points, 6.4 assists, 5.3 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game over 78 contests in 2023-24. He shot 45.9% from the field, 36.3% from 3 and 79.4% at the line.
Murray is entering the first year of a four-year, $114 million deal he signed with Atlanta last July. The 6-foot-5 guard projects to slot next to CJ McCollum in New Orleans’ backcourt, with Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram, Trey Murphy III and Herb Jones as the team’s frontcourt players.
Ingram, however, has been the subject of trade rumors after struggling in the Pelicans’ first-round playoff loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Daniels, the No. 8 overall pick in 2022, averaged 5.8 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.4 steals in 22.3 minutes per game over his 61 appearances last season. He shot 44.7% from the field and 31.1% from 3.
The 31-year-old Nance, who’s entering the final year of his deal, averaged 5.7 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 19.9 minutes per contest over his 61 appearances last season.
LeBron and Bronny James are set to make history as the first father-son duo to play in the NBA simultaneously.
