Wizards' path to playoffs harder after Dejounte Murray trade originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
The Eastern Conference is already deep, but it got a bit stronger on Wednesday after the Hawks agreed to trade Danilo Gallinari and three future first-round picks for Spurs All-Star Dejounte Murray.
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The three first-round picks will come in 2023, 2025 and 2027 along with a first-round pick swap in 2026. It's a massive haul for the Spurs, who'll presumably go into a full rebuild now, and a sizeable commitment to another point guard from the Hawks' perspective.
Trae Young is one of the best and most ball-dominant offensive players in the NBA, so he and Murray will have to figure out how to mesh offensively as they hope to establish themselves as contenders in the East. Defensively, Murray should be able to provide elite perimeter defense and help Young occasionally hide from mismatches.
This move comes several hours after the Wizards agreed to a trade for a new point guard of their own in Denver's Monte Morris. They paid a lot less than Atlanta did for Murray, but Morris obviously isn't an All-Star caliber player at the moment.
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The Wizards' need for a point guard at the beginning of the offseason was well documented. After trading away Spencer Dinwiddie for Kristaps Porzingis, it left a massive hole at the point guard spot next to Bradley Beal. They very well could have gotten in the mix for Murray since he was the best point guard available this summer, but that's a lot of draft capital to part with for a guy who probably isn't turning you into a championship contender.
The Murray trade mirrors the Jrue Holiday deal from two years ago. The Bucks paid a hefty price, sending two future first-round picks, and two future first-round pick swaps to New Orleans for Holiday, but they were a title contender one piece away. They turned around and won it all that same season.
Regardless of whether the Hawks paid too much for Murray or not, they're still a team who finished above Washington in the standings last year and managed to improve their roster. If the Wizards are going to make a playoff push next season, it won't be easy with how deep the Eastern Conference is.
The Celtics, Bucks, Heat, and Sixers all figure to be back contending for an NBA Finals berth next season, while the Bulls, Raptors and Hawks are in win-now mode as well. Who knows where and what the Nets will be next season? That's still seven teams built to win and compete for eight playoff spots with the Wizards, Cavaliers, Knicks, Hornets and maybe the Pistons.
Washington still has an offseason to continue improving its roster after a trade of its own this week, but the East is also as deep as it's ever been.
