NBA Trades: 5 superstars that teams will be lining up to trade for this summer

5) Dejounte Murray - Atlanta Hawks

Dejounte Murray wouldn’t be the first star player traded shortly after signing a contract extension; look no further than Blake Griffin as an example. During the 2017-18 season, the LA Clippers traded Griffin to the Detroit Pistons six months after agreeing to a five-year $171 million contract extension. Murray and the Atlanta Hawks agreed to a four-year, $114 million contract extension this past summer.

Murray was the topic of constant rumors linking him to the Los Angeles Lakers and the New York Knicks, among other teams, before the trade deadline. According to Yahoo’s Jake Fischer, the New Orleans Pelicans were one of the teams that expressed interest in Murray ahead of the trade deadline, as well as Onyeka Okongwu and Clint Capela. In the same report, Fischer stated, “League personnel expect Los Angeles, of course, to re-engage Atlanta over Murray.”

The 6'5" defensive stalwart has improved his offensive game over the past few years and is currently averaging a career-best 22.2 points per game. He’s also averaging 6.0 assists, 5.2 rebounds, and 1.4 steals per game while converting 36 percent of his career-high 6.8 3-point attempts. Still, the Hawks are 31-39 through 72 games this season and have a 72-80 record since they traded for the former All-Star guard during the summer of 2022.

Last month, The Ringer's Howard Beck reported the Hawks entertained trade talks for Murray and Trae Young but never landed on anything they truly liked, stating, “It’s considered a near certainty that they will part with one, or both, this summer.” With all that being said, the pairing of Murray and Young hasn't quite worked out as well as Atlanta had hoped, and with the former Washington Husky set to make half as much money next season, coupled with his two-way abilities, he may very well have a bigger trade market than Young, making him the more likely to be moved this offseason.