The Atlanta Hawks have the No. 1 overall pick and two All-Star point guards, along with several valuable ancillary pieces that could be flipped to help improve the roster. Most expect the Hawks to trade one of Trae Young or Dejounte Murray. The pairing just hasn’t worked since Murray was acquired via trade a couple of offseasons ago, and as the sample size continues to grow larger, it has become more difficult to ignore
However, trade talks aren’t just now beginning. Landry Fields was busy during the trade deadline too, and it was Murray who was on the trade block. According to a Jazz insider, the Hawks tried to make a deal that would involve a swap of Murray and Keyonte George, which Utah rejected.
“There was some talk about Dejounte Murray to the Jazz at the trade deadline, and it was going to cost the Jazz Keyonte George, and the Jazz said no,” Ben Anderson of KSL Sports said.
There had to be a lot more to this deal, including players and picks, but George appears to be the focal point, according to Anderson. He is coming off a decent rookie campaign in which he averaged 13.0 points on 39.1% shooting from the field and 33.4% shooting from deep to go along with 4.4 assists.
George is a promising young player, but I’m not sure why the Hawks would be looking for another undersized guard to put in the backcourt next to Trae Young. Improving defensively should be a top priority, and if it was bad with Murray, it’s hard to imagine it would have gotten much better with Keyonte George. Atlanta also just spent a first-round pick on Kobe Bufkin, a player with a similar skill set that went one pick ahead of George in the draft.
As for the Jazz, they’re clearly high on George. For the Hawks, I hope that’s not the best they can do this offseason.
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Photographer: Jevone Moore/Icon Sportswire
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