At first glance, it seemed as if the Atlanta Hawks got very little for Dejounte Murray when he shipped him to the New Orleans Pelicans. But now, it appears the Hawks may have even gotten the better end of the deal thanks mainly to Dyson Daniels, the Pelicans’ eighth overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft.
Mainly, the 6-foot-7 Daniels is turning out to be just as good—if not better—than Murray on defense with that great athleticism, natural instincts for the ball, and inordinately long harms. He is particularly adept at getting his hands on the ball, as evidenced by his league-best 3.4 steals and 1.1 blocks a game.
The G League Ignite alum is in some ways part of a rare and dying breed of young players who know how to defend and embrace the challenge of it. But he is not too shabby on offense either, as he is beginning to find his way on that end, too, contributing 14.9 points and 3.2 assists for the Hawks as the team’s third option behind Trae Young and fellow rising star Jalen Johnson.
Daniels, dubbed “Psycho Bandit” because of his fast hands on D, remains a work in progress, but that progress sure is happening at an accelerated pace.
