It seems that Trae Young is just as confused as Atlanta Hawks fans about why his pair with Dejounte Murray failed miserably.
Entering the 2022-23 NBA season, there was a lot of hope around the Hawks that the combo of Dejounte Murray and Trae Young would be dynamite. However, the two talented guards could never develop a winning formula and the team ended up performing worse than they did the previous seasons without Murray.
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It led to speculation over the last six months that either man could be traded this summer. In the end, Atlanta sided with their homegrown star, Young, and sent Murray to the New Orleans Pelicans in a June trade. The organization is now going with a younger group for next season with the three-time All-Star and 2024 top overall pick Zaccharie Risacher as the core.
For the first time since the Murray deal, Young has spoken out on why the backcourt pairing didn’t work. And his comments are surprising since it seems he and the new member of the Pelicans developed a strong bond away from the court.
Trae Young stats (2023-24): 25.7 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 10.8 APG, 1.3 SPG, 37% 3PT
Trae Young still confused by failed Atlanta Hawks pairing with Dejounte Murray
“The only bad part is we didn’t get to win as much as we wanted to be honest with you. The good part is we have a lifelong relationship,” Young said during a recent appearance on “Podcast P with Paul George.” “Our relationship goes outside of basketball. We’re both family men. Our morals are very much similar as far as who we have around us. The way we get along off the court is forever.
“… I think it was tough. Both very unselfish in ways so it’s like there were times early where I’m just, I’m passing it to him and he wants to be aggressive but he’s a point guard too, so he’s not thinking score first all the time,” he added. “… I mean in San Antonio he is a really good defender, known as just a defender, wasn’t really known as a scorer, but just a defender can kind of do everything. Rebound score, but get other guys involved. But when he came to us… it’s just a different feel and so it just sucks it didn’t work.”
Trae Young is entering his seventh season in Atlanta and will make a team-record $43 million in 2024-25.