The New Orleans Pelicans could be a potential destination for either Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young or Dejounte Murray on the day of the NBA Draft, per Jonathan Givony of ESPN.
The Hawks own the No. 1 overall pick and are said to be open to moving that as well. But it is the names of Young and Murray that have been circulating on the rumor mill.
“(The Hawks) simultaneously have decisions to make with players already on their roster, especially Trae Young and Dejounte Murray, who seem destined to part ways with the team in the not-too-distant future,” Givony wrote. “The New Orleans Pelicans loom as a potential destination for one of them, with Brandon Ingram the most attractive and attainable target on the Pels’ roster.”
Meanwhile, Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports recently reported that the Pelicans are among the teams to which Young would be open in a trade.
“The Lakers, Pelicans and Spurs remain three destinations that would be appealing to Young, league sources told Yahoo Sports, and teams in the lottery are not discounting the possibility the Spurs could engineer a move up to the top slot, which could open the door for Atlanta possibly selecting Clingan at No. 4,” Fischer wrote.
Young signed a five-year, $215 million extension with the Hawks in August 2021. He’ll make $43 million next season and $45 million in 2025-26.
One of the top scorers and passers in the NBA, Young averaged 25.7 points, 2.8 rebounds, 10.8 assists, 1.3 steals and 0.2 blocks in 2023-24 while shooting 43.0% from the field, 37.3% from beyond the arc and 85.5% from the free-throw line. He recorded 37 double-doubles in 54 games.
The Pelicans also have been cited as “longtime admirers” of Murray, per Marc Stein of The Stein Line.
Clarity remains elusive about Atlanta’s trade preferences — whether the Hawks indeed intend to ship out Trae Young or Dejounte Murray as well as what their intentions are with the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft on Wednesday night — but the Pelicans are known to be longtime admirers of Murray,” Stein wrote.
One of the top two-way players in the NBA, Murray averaged 22.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, 6.4 assists, 1.4 steals and 0.3 blocks in 2023-24 while shooting 45.9% from the field, 36.3% from beyond the arc and 79.4% from the free-throw line.
The Hawks signed Murray to a four-year, $114 million extension in July 2023. He will make $24.8 million next season.
(Ashish Mathur contributed to this report.)
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