ATLANTA — A year after trading for All-Star guard Dejounte Murray, the Atlanta Hawks gave him a four-year contract extension worth as much as $120 million this week.
Locked On Hawks host Brad Rowland broke down the contract and what it means for the team on an instant reaction episode of the podcast.
“Overall, I believe this is a slam-dunk move for the Hawks," Rowland said. "I did not think that Murray would take this deal.”
“The general thought in the industry was always going to be that Murray was unlikely to sign an extension," Rowland continued. "But with this deal, he is more than doubling his career earnings.”
Murray scored 20.5 points and put up 6.1 assists and 5.3 rebounds per game on a .540 true shooting percentage in his first season in Atlanta.
“In this current cap environment that we’re about to start with this new CBA, I think Murray is basically taking a deal now that’s paying him more like third or fourth option money than No. 2 option money," Rowland said.
The Hawks are led by max contract superstar Trae Young and made other cost-cutting moves this offseason, including trading forward John Collins to Utah. They also hired new head coach Quin Snyder, who will be tasked with integrating his heavy pick-and-roll offensive philosophy in Atlanta around Young and Murray.
Fortunately for Atlanta, they now move forward with Murray on a value contract.