3 reasons why the Bucks shouldn't trade for Dejounte Murray

Now that the Toronto Raptors have traded OG Anunoby and Pascal Siakam, the hottest name in the rumor mill is Dejounte Murray of the Atlanta Hawks.

Teams as disparate as the Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs have been linked to the 27-year-old guard, and now the Milwaukee Bucks are rumored to be in hot pursuit.

To put it bluntly, if the Bucks were to trade for Dejounte Murray, it would be a disaster of epic proportions. And here’s why.

3. Dejounte Murray isn’t what the Bucks need

The Milwaukee Bucks are 28-13, the second-best record in the Eastern Conference, and sport an offensive rating of 121.2, fourth in the NBA, and 0.1 points per 100 possessions off of second. However, their defense is another story entirely. They currently sit 22nd in defensive rating at 117.4 but are in no danger of slipping into the bottom five. The Bucks offense is in no need of help, but their defense could use a complete remodeling, which is why Dejounte Murray makes zero sense for them. 

Reputations are hard to earn but even harder to change. Murray earned his excellent defensive reputation when he made the All-Defensive team in 2017-18, and the aura that he is a defensive stopper has followed him ever since. Even though he has seen a significant drop off on that end of the court. 

In 2017-18, Murray was a 21-year-old second-year player. He averaged 21.5 minutes per game, scored 8.1 points per game, and was tasked with a 20.7 percent usage rate. When Murray was an All-Defensive team guard, he was a role player, but a lot has changed over the past six seasons. He missed all of 2018-19 with an ACL injury, morphed into a high-usage lead guard, made an All-Star team, and established himself as a top-50 player on the strength of his offense. 

Murray isn’t a great defender anymore, and he hasn’t been for a while. Over the past two seasons, the Hawks’ defensive rating has improved by two points with him on the bench. He’s still an excellent player, but believing he can fill the gaping void on the perimeter left by Jrue Holiday’s departure is living in the past. The Bucks have flaws, and Murray won’t solve them.

The second big reason the Bucks shouldn't make the trade expands on that fact...