What if Cavs, Wolves, Hawks never made their blockbuster trades?

What if the Atlanta Hawks never traded for Dejounte Murray?

The Atlanta Hawks traded for Dejounte Murray to try and accomplish two goals. The first was to prop up the offense when Trae Young was on the bench; that hasn’t happened, as the Hawks have cratered when he sits. The other was to add an elite defender to the backcourt, and while Murray is a good defender he hasn’t moved the needle for the Hawks, who rank 25th in defense a year after finishing 26th.

What if the trade never happened? In that scenario, the Hawks wouldn’t have been pressed against the luxury tax and would likely have retained Kevin Huerter instead of shipping him off to the Sacramento Kings. They also may have kept Danilo Gallinari, who has missed the entire season due to injury, and likely used him as matching salary at the NBA Trade Deadline for an upgrade.

The Hawks have been a .500 team this season, largely in line with what they were last year as well (they finished 43-39). Trading for Murray and sending three future firsts (two outright, one swap) didn’t change much. Keeping Huerter and not adding Murray would likely have produced a similar output.

Armed with that draft capital, however, the Hawks could have pursued a different upgrade at the trade deadline. Could they have made a run at OG Anunoby? Would they have been more aggressive in moving John Collins for an upgrade? Instead of mortgaging the future for a backcourt upgrade that hasn’t done much, they could have made a deal to upgrade the shakier frontcourt.

Let’s spin the wheel and say that they use Gallinari’s salary and a pick or two to make a deal with the Washington Wizards, adding Kyle Kuzma and old friend Delon Wright. Would that group have finished with a better record? Perhaps, but most likely they’re about where they are now. The Murray deal was an expensive move to tread water, but not making it would have left them in a similar spot as well.