New detail from Hawks trade for Dyson Daniels emerges

The Hawks are finally building a roster that complements itself, rather than chasing All-Stars, and it began this offseason with the Dejounte Murray trade that brought Dyson Daniels to Atlanta.

A foundation is laid, and there’s a clear timeline. Every critical piece of the club is younger than 26 years old —  Trae Young (26), Dyson Daniels (21), Zaccharie Risacher (19), De’Andre Hunter (26), Jalen Johnson (22), and Onyeka Okongwu (23).

Even more important, there’s a rhyme and reason to the construction of the roster. Each player has a specific role, and unlike the Young-Murray tenure, there are very few redundant skill sets. But most importantly, the Hawks have filled the critical void of a defensive specialist with Dyson Daniels.

Daniels is currently leading the league in steals per game at an insane 3.7, which has improved Atlanta’s defense in a remarkable manner. Dyson saves nearly four points per 100 possessions for the Hawks when he’s on the court.

So, it’s not shocking that the Pelicans didn’t want to include him in the trade for Dejounte Murray while the Hawks demanded he be part of the deal

“The Pelicans weren’t anxious to trade Daniels in the package for Murray last summer and tried to keep him out of the deal, sources said, but the Hawks badly wanted someone who could help protect Young on defense,” Brian Windhorst wrote.

“He is not a good shooter — his 27% 3-point percentage and 53% free throw percentage tell that tale — but internally, the Hawks have been thrilled with his attitude and work ethic after playing in the Olympics with Australia. And now there’s potential Defensive Player of the Year buzz perhaps in the offing,” Windhorst continues.

While Windhorst is correct about his efficiency, Dyson Daniels is not a zero on the offensive end. Through 12 games, he’s nearly tripled his points per game from last season to 15.0 points while averaging career-highs in assists (3.0) and rebounds (4.6).

The Hawks got another pillar for the foundation in Dyson Daniels. It seems bad right now for the Pels, but this could easily be a win-win situation once Dejounte Murray gets healthy.

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Jevone Moore/Icon Sportswire