“YOU ARE THE WORSE COACH I EVER MET” Star player disparaging Atlanta Hawks head coach Quin Snyder
According to NBA insider Marc Stein, head coach Quin Snyder pushed the Hawks to keep guard Dejounte Murray on the team amid trade speculations surrounding him.
“Another interesting wrinkle to emerge on the Murray front: League sources say Coach Quin Snyder has lobbied the Hawks to keep him,” Stein stated.
Murray may be on the trading block, but in the last few weeks, he has been finally clicking. Snyder is defending him in the front office because of his strong play and reasonable deal.
In his seventh season in the league, Murray is scoring 21.4 points per game, pulling down five rebounds, dishing out 5.1 assists, and stealing 1.3 steals a contest, all career highs. He just defeated the Orlando Magic and the Miami Heat with back-to-back game-winning shots, and in the last month, he has averaged 23.8 points per game.
He will be in the first year of a four-year $114 million contract extension starting in the next year.
The Los Angeles Lakers, who are vying for a postseason berth, have been linked to Murray; however, Stein stated last week that a Murray trade to the Lakers is “unrealistic.”
It’s uncertain what the Hawks will do with the two-way guard going forward, given that a possible trade with the Lakers may fall through and Snyder’s desire to keep Murray in the organization.
But it’s obvious that Atlanta needs something to fire them up again in order to be considered for the playoffs. The Hawks, who are 19-27 and in 10th place in the Eastern Conference, have lost eight of their past 14 games this month.
Despite star point guard Trae Young’s impressive season-long average of 27 points and 10.8 assists per game, combined with Aaron Murray’s play, Atlanta hasn’t been able to maintain a postseason spot.
The Hawks made it to the postseason and even won two games against the Boston Celtics in the first round of the playoffs in the inaugural season of the Young and Murray era. With Young and Murray leading the way, Atlanta can still win, but it’s obvious that something needs to be changed halfway through the season.
