The summer of Landry may be upon us.
Trades, cleared salary-cap space, future draft picks acquired, helpful pieces rostered – the action that Hawks fans have called for from general manager Landry Fields could be coming soon.
On Friday, Fields did the one thing he absolutely had to do this offseason, completing a trade involving one of his star guards, Dejounte Murray or Trae Young. The Hawks sent Murray to the New Orleans Pelicans in exchange for first-round picks in 2025 and 2027 and three players, guard and defensive ace Dyson Daniels and veteran forward/center Larry Nance Jr. and forward E.J. Liddell.
It closed the loop on the most impactful – ultimately for the worse – decision that Fields had made in his stewardship of the team, bringing in Murray from the San Antonio Spurs in June 2022 at the cost of three first-round picks. The pairing of the high-scoring Young and Murray (a 2022 All-Star) offered promise after the Hawks saw the need for an additional offensive threat alongside Young, but it didn’t work out and the excessive cost for Murray made the deal only worse.
Friday night’s trade followed by two days the other decision that will define Fields’ tenure, which to this point has produced a record of 77-87 – the selection of French wing player Zaccharie Risacher with the first overall pick, a prize secured in the draft lottery despite having a 3% probability of winning it.
The drafting of Risacher (and to a lesser degree second-round selection Nikola Djurisic) and the trade of Murray (and especially the acquisition of Daniels) create the feeling of momentum and a roster being reshaped. And a comment made Friday by Hawks CEO Steve Koonin on a radio appearance on 92.9 the Game suggested that Fields is not finished enacting his vision for the roster in conjunction with coach Quin Snyder. Often derided as inactive and a fountain of corporate buzzwords, Fields could be in the midst of a season in which he moves this oft-hopeless franchise forward.
Or at least in his direction.
Koonin told 92.9 that, with the free-agency period looming, “I think in the next week to 10 days, the NBA – including the Atlanta Hawks – will be in the news quite a bit.”
Koonin surely did not make the prediction idly. And while he made the comment before word of the Murray trade got out, it was equally surely not what he was referring to. It could be a trade, a free-agent signing or both. For different reasons, the most probable trade targets are center Clint Capela, forward De’Andre Hunter and, even after the Murray trade, Young.
But it was a hint that Fields’ plan to bring in players with his oft-referenced “Hawks DNA” is in the offing. Fields made the call on Risacher based on his shooting ability, defensive versatility, basketball intelligence and personal character. Fields referenced the Hawks DNA traits that he has sought and said that Risacher “possesses a significant amount of those.” Last year’s selection of guard Kobe Bufkin in the first round was another, although he missed significant portions of his rookie season with injuries.
The inclusion of Daniels in the Murray trade also was notable. The No. 8 pick of the 2022 draft, Daniels’ shooting ability is suspect, but he is a defensive standout, handles the ball well and is seen as a high-character player. At 6-foot-8, he has a long, athletic body like the 6-9 Risacher. Last season, the Hawks’ lack of size was a detriment on defense, which ranked 27th last season in the league in points per possession. The team was high on Daniels in the 2022 draft, but he was gone when the Hawks picked at 16 (and took A.J. Griffin, who was traded to Houston on Thursday as part of a three-way deal that brought back Djurisic).
It would be a stunner if Young, the Hawks’ three-time All-Star, were moved in addition to the Murray trade, but it’s not beyond question. With a hefty contract and a game that, while explosive, doesn’t fit every team, finding a trade partner would be difficult.
Regardless of what deals happen, it would be action and decisions that will give Fields’ time in office depth to judge him by. Hawks followers have wanted progress from a team that has done a very nice job of languishing. In the past eight seasons, they’ve finished a season more than four games above .500 once. With a dazzling talent in Young (albeit one with some obvious limitations because of his size), they’ve cycled through three coaches, are 210-257 in his six seasons and, after a surprising run to the Eastern Conference finals in 2021, have not made it out of the first round in the past three seasons.
Luck often has not been on the Hawks’ side, injuries and winning the draft lottery in a down year being two of the more unfortunate strokes. On the other hand, it’s not like the front office needs a breather from celebrating all of its brilliant roster moves.
However, the Murray trade to the Pelicans could be called a win for Fields and the Hawks. Particularly given that potential partners knew the Hawks’ desperation to move either him or Young, the Hawks still were able to recoup much of what they gave away to the Spurs. There was, though, the irretrievable cost of two seasons committed to this experiment gone awry.
“Atlanta got a solid return on the trade,” an NBA scout told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in a text message. “For me, you essentially are exactly where you were two years ago, just two years older.”
Not the most glowing assessment, but not the worst. Fields now is positioned to follow it up and show Hawks fans what he can do, to demonstrate that he possesses the winning DNA that he forever seeks for his team.
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