Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young. (Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports)
Atlanta star Trae Young tweeted his reaction to playing ball with Dejounte Murray after the Hawks traded for the Spurs guard.
Trae Young has a new backcourt partner in Atlanta and he seems to be thrilled about it.
On Wednesday, the Hawks traded Danilo Gallinari and multiple first-round draft picks to grab Spurs guard Dejounte Murray.
While it required a hefty price, it’s clear the franchise player was all about the deal.
Trae Young is “ecstatic” about Hawks trading for Dejounte Murray
“This just got real Let’s get busy my Brotha,” Young tweeted after the news hit.
That tweet definitely backs up the word from behind the scenes. Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports tweeted that Young is “ecstatic” over adding Murray.
It remains to be seen how effective a Young and Murray partnership will be but on paper, it looks like a strong match. Murray, who is a defensive stalwart, should free up Young to do what he does best: Score.
The Spurs drafted Murray out of Washington in 2016 and developed him into an All-Star point guard last season. He averaged 21.1 points, 8.3 rebounds, 9.2 assists and 2.0 steals, all career bests. He led the league in steals.
He made the NBA All-Defense second team in his second season but an ACL tear kept him out for the entire 2018-19 season and likely delayed his eventual coming-out party this past season.
Per ESPN Stats & Info, Murray and Young will now be the first pair of teammates to average 20 points and eight assists per game the year before. That’s the kind of duo that just got put together.
San Antonio is in a clear rebuild while the Hawks are looking to take the next step as contenders in the Eastern Conference. They certainly gave up some big assets to go and get him but the payoff could be huge if Murray is able to prove he’s no one-season wonder.