ATLANTA — The Hawks, who enable essentially the most factors per sport within the NBA and are struggling to stay above the cutoff line for the play-in event, shocked many by not making a transfer earlier than Thursday’s commerce deadline.
There was a lot hypothesis the Hawks would think about a commerce involving taking pictures guard Dejounte Murray, who joins Trae Younger to present Atlanta a high-scoring backcourt that hasn’t produced a successful report. Basic supervisor Landry Fields mentioned Friday that no provide match the workforce’s long-term targets.
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“I believe we’ll know when it is time to transfer on from gamers,” Fields mentioned. “And we’ll know when it is time to herald any individual new. However clearly proper now, that wasn’t the time. This was not the time.”
Fields assumed management of each day operations when workforce president Travis Schlenk stepped down in December 2022. About two months later, Quin Snyder was employed as coach to exchange the fired Nate McMillan.
The Hawks completed the 2022-23 season at 41-41, eighth within the Japanese Convention, and misplaced to the Boston Celtics within the first spherical of the playoffs after escaping the play-in event. Atlanta took a 22-29 report into Friday night time’s sport in Philadelphia and was tenth within the East, the ultimate spot within the play-in event.
Atlanta has not gained a playoff collection since advancing to the 2021 Japanese Convention finals. Some observers consider Murray may have introduced Atlanta a bundle, together with first-round picks, to make wanted main tweaks to the roster.
Fields confused that he wasn’t keen to sacrifice long-term targets for a potential short-term profit.
“With any type of idea that got here in, it is not simply the short-term outcomes or the short-term targets, I ought to say, that we’re enthusiastic about,” Fields mentioned. “It is long run.”
Murray, who agreed to a four-year, $120 million extension July 7, stays a part of the plan, a minimum of by this season.
The Los Angeles Lakers and New Orleans Pelicans have been among the many groups with reported curiosity in a deal involving Murray, who’s averaging 21.4 factors, 5.2 assists and 5.1 rebounds per sport.
Murray, at 6-foot-5, 185 kilos, supplied wanted measurement and protection to take stress off high-scoring Younger. However the Hawks’ protection has remained a legal responsibility as Atlanta permits 124 factors per sport.
Fields referred to “sure features of the previous few weeks” that supplied encouragement to stay dedicated to the present roster.
The Hawks have solely lately had forwards De’Andre Hunter and Jalen Johnson again on the ground collectively after every missed a number of weeks with accidents. Fields mentioned the workforce has “seen an uptick” from current contributions from Johnson and forwards Onyeka Okongwu and Saddiq Bey.
“So all issues thought-about, yeah, we in the end determined that we weren’t going to do something,” Fields mentioned. “May we now have completed one thing? Completely. However that will have been short-term outcomes that we did not really feel are going to learn us for the long run.”
Fields mentioned the Hawks may take one other take a look at commerce choices after the season and the NBA draft. The workforce has a $25.3 million commerce exception created when ahead John Collins was traded to the Utah Jazz on June 26. The Hawks have till July 8 to make use of that exemption.
“We do have a while for that, and it is an necessary software, a useful software, as we go into the summer time … the place we now have these alternatives to externally change our workforce,” Fields mentioned.
