On Thursday, a lot of teams in the NBA got to work to make their deals with incoming players and current players on their roster official.
Although the Atlanta Hawks didn’t make a lot of moves this summer, the team made a substantial one on Thursday afternoon in order to secure the long-term future of one of its best players.
According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, the Hawks are inking guard Dejounte Murray to a lucrative four-year contract extension.
Atlanta Hawks All-Star Dejounte Murray and CEO of Klutch Sports Rich Paul are finalizing a four-year, $120 million veteran maximum extension with the franchise, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. Deal includes a player option.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 6, 2023
Here are some fan reactions to the Hawks committing to Murray on a lucrative four-year deal:
How is he worth 30 million per year?
— Matt Ferrer (@coolmatthew213_) July 6, 2023
Rich Paul putting up hall of fame numbers this contract season
— Charlie Quinn (@CharlieQuinnMMA) July 6, 2023
Tbh I think last year’s Hawks team completely underperformed. They’re more than a play-in team at least. But I think they’re missing a couple of pieces to seriously make a run for the chip. Making they can get it done.
— Spud Koobidehjanian 🏀 (@spudbball) July 6, 2023
The praise for Klutch Sports super-agent Rich Paul aside, the move to extend Murray with a four-year deal seems to have some mixed reviews, and that was to be expected as he hasn’t really moved the needle much for Atlanta since being traded to the team from the San Antonio Spurs.
The Hawks may need some time to gel under Quin Snyder, who took over for Nate McMillan in February after the head coach and star player Trae Young couldn’t see eye-to-eye.
With Snyder proving his worth while he was with the Utah Jazz, it’ll be interesting to see if he can turn this Hawks franchise around and propel Atlanta to the next level.
Next season could be a make-or-break year for Young, as the franchise will see if this team can really become a winner with the high-scoring guard as the squad’s best player moving forward.
If it doesn’t work out, it wouldn’t be all that surprising to hear Young’s name in trade rumors again heading toward the NBA trade deadline.
