Dejounte Murray has spent enough nights making life miserable for the Celtics to qualify as a familiar nuisance in Boston. He is also, now, officially on the trade market.
That alone is enough to get his name tossed around in Celtics circles, especially with Brad Stevens showing a willingness to chase players who have burned Boston before. But Murray is a different case, and not one Boston should rush into.
The memory that sticks for Celtics fans is the one where Murray took over against Boston and powered the Hawks to an overtime win with 44 points. That kind of performance can make a player look tailor-made for a rival’s revenge story. Murray also brings a résumé that still carries weight: an All-Defense nod, an All-Star appearance, and the kind of scoring bursts that get people talking about a possible offensive boost.
And Boston does have a reason to look at him. Plenty of people want the Celtics to add another scorer, and Murray’s defense, passing, and size would seem to fit alongside what Mazzulla Ball has already become this season. There’s even an argument that his rough year in New Orleans has more to do with dysfunction around him than anything he’s done on his own.
Still, the warning signs are hard to ignore.
Murray’s teams have not won anything meaningful, and even when his numbers have looked strong, the results have usually topped out at average. His best team success, oddly enough, came in Atlanta - the same Hawks team that beat Boston in that memorable game.
He has also had rotten timing with injuries and chaos. After the Pelicans traded for him, he broke his hand, then watched the executive who acquired him, David Griffin, get fired along with the coach he was supposed to play for, Willie Green.
To make matters worse, he later tore his Achilles against Boston.
That leaves the Celtics with a real evaluation problem. Is Murray’s production being wasted by bad team building around him, or are those big numbers just not translating into winning basketball? There’s no clean answer, and that uncertainty matters.
The bigger issue is cost. Boston does not have many realistic salaries to send out in a Murray deal, and the most obvious one is Derrick White.
The Celtics have no reason to put Paul George on the table after how well he has played. If Mitchell Robinson were the main outgoing contract, Boston would likely have to attach more pieces, including Sam Hauser and others.
That’s a lot to give up for a player whose fit is not exactly seamless.
If the Celtics truly explored this, the cleanest version would probably be Murray for White. Even then, the fit is shaky.
White’s three-point shot has not returned, but he remains a proven winner and a natural fit in Boston’s structure. He doesn’t crowd the offense for George or Jayson Tatum.
Murray might post the flashier numbers, but that does not automatically make him the better basketball move. Boston wants more than raw talent.
It wants players who fit the program, and White checks that box in a way Murray does not. Murray would be an upgrade over someone like Jordan Walsh, sure, but that is not the question.
The question is whether he’s worth the price, and whether he actually moves Boston closer to a title.
Buying low on him is not a crazy idea. It just comes with too many unanswered questions to justify paying up.
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Baylor Scheierman Just Made Bostons Lineup Decision Much Harder
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Scheiermans November has been building toward this kind of conversation anyway. Over seven games this month, he has averaged 8 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists, and the combination of improved shooting and willingness to mix it up on the glass has put Boston in a spot where a rotation decision no longer feels automatic. [Read more 🡒]