Look I’m a big fan of Dejounte Murray, he’s obviously a great team guy and he must love the A. Him taking a friendlier contract proves this and shows the typa stand up guy he is. But I’m just still really stuck on the DejouneTrae fit.
Both are all star level caliber players, but they never seem to both combine to play at this level at the same time. We’ve seen what both players are capable of, but it always seems when one is taking over the game, the other is playing well below average. It’s so frustrating because I truely believe that if the other guard even plays just average, we would have such a greater advantage.
There’s a part of me that absolutely does not want to let go of DJM, but I’m just starting to wonder, is Trae better suited with an all star caliber wing or big instead?
Do you think I’m overreacting? should we wait until Quins systems are fully installed, or is there a set of front court players that would greatly help this duo out?. Or you do you think it just won’t work regardless? I’m starting to think maybe this pairing isn’t the one. But I’ve seen what DJM is capable of so I’m really stuck. Maybe it’s too early into the season to tell.
There was so much hype when we traded for him and it didnt make sense to me. When has a 2 pg line up done anything? Then when we extended him, there was even more hype. People were arguing hes a cheap all star/all defensive guy. He’s not making either of those teams. The one year he was an all star was his best year. He was a replacement btw. 26-8-8 on a team that either made or just missed the play-in. All i got was “TITS” and “you’re not a real hawks fan”. I wish I could go back and read that nonsense.
First, you have to accept that Murray isn’t an all star level player. If this team really wants to get somewhere, Trae needs a sidekick that’s as good as him or better. I know this shit is tough to hear, but it’s the damn truth. And that’s why this team is fundamentally flawed. They play ok together. They can put a stretch of a few good games together. But this team is a first round and out team right now. And their ancillary pieces aren’t all that great either. They have one young and up coming guy. Their other guys are older and starting to decline. They made some grave mistakes in their tank and that’s why they had to make that Murray trade in the first place. The hawks have really only played a good few months of basketball since Trae got here. That’s six years. Maybe you fans that only bitch about doomers and can’t tell shit on the team can finally get it. It is what it is. You have to bank on Jalen becoming close to an all star level player. And that’s a big fucking ask of him this early. But that’s where the team is. Some of you will say it’s only been 17 games, but the hawks earlier this year and now are in the same image of the hawks every year. Fans aren’t seeing anything new. It’s the same shit on rinse and repeat.
Murray is fine. He is what he is. He’s actually been playing above his contract. There’s another guy that you need to speak about, but he just had maybe his best four games of basketball last week and people will give him a pass. And so what? Yes he’s the best player on this team. That doesn’t really mean shit right now. Yes he can assist the fuck out of the basketball. Yes he can hit FTs at an elite clip. Yes he can get some steals now and then. Yes he’s playing a little bit better on defense. But he’s still way far away from being a plus guy because he can get hunted on. We will see how good of a coach Quin really is this year. He’s earning his money trying to make this into something better than what’s out there. He just hasn’t done it yet. And he has a tall task ahead of him.
We let go of DJM, we’ll be back to the same situation 2 years ago when we needed another ball handler that can handle the pressure.
We’ll be reviving a problem that we no longer have smh
The thing is sometimes they do have a synergy that really pops. Trae leaps into the air, hooks a pass around the defender, Djm catches and swishes a 3. They’ve done that very move several times this year (not in the past couple of weeks). It’s just one example, but I’ve seen them work plays together masterfully. It’s not consistent enough tho, and if I were quin, I’d have them drilling that shit over and over.
Have you ever seen DJM pass out of a drive to Trae? He has horrific tunnel vision. What is the point of Trae moving off ball when nobody passes it to him.
Dejounte is the 88th highest paid player in the league. He is a valuable member of the team but the idea that he is “paired” with Trae is incorrect. Once we have another max contract player on the team we can talk about who Trae is paired with.
This team will have a gaping hole until JJ develops into an All NBA forward or we bring one in from the outside.