ESPN Regrades Blockbuster Trade That Sent Dejounte Murray to New Orleans, Dyson Daniels to Atlanta

What a difference a year makes.

At this time last offseason, there was not much optimism surrounding the Atlanta Hawks. They failed to make the playoffs, got the No. 1 pick in a year that no team seemingly wanted the No. 1 pick, and had major questions about the pairing of Trae Young and Dejounte Murray. Murray was traded to the New Orleans Pelicans for Dyson Daniels, Larry Nance Jr, and two first-round picks. Opinion was split on who won the trade at the time, but there should be no debate about the topic now.

This may go down as the greatest trade in Atlanta Hawks history (pending the results of another trade that involves the Pelicans), and the Hawks future looks brighter because of it. Daniels won the NBA's Most Improved Player Award and was the runner-up for Defensive Player of the Year while being looked at as a crucial piece for the Hawks future alongside Young.

In a recent article, ESPN's Kevin Pelton regraded the trade, and it is no surprise who is seen as the winner:

Original grades:
Atlanta: B+
New Orleans: B+

Regrades:
Atlanta: A
New Orleans: F

"This deal already looked like a mistake for the Pelicans before Murray suffered an Achilles rupture at the end of January that should keep him off the court for at least the first couple of months of the 2025-26 season.

The biggest issue here was New Orleans selling low on Daniels, the No. 8 pick in 2022. At the time, I noted that top-10 picks traded so early in their careers have tended to disappoint because the team trading them has more info about their development. Whoops! Daniels rightfully won Most Improved Player after becoming the first player in decades to average 3.0 steals.

Given that Daniels still has a year left on his bargain rookie contract ($7.7 million this season), getting him for Murray would have been a reasonable return for Atlanta. In addition, the Hawks got this year's No. 22 pick -- used to get Kristaps Porzingis from the Boston Celtics last month -- and another first-rounder in 2027 that looks more promising given Giannis Antetokounmpo's uncertain future in Milwaukee."