Pels saved the Hawks, Magic aren't dead, Luka's unstoppable

Welcome to From The Logo, a collection of opinions, analysis, and locker room insights from theScore's lead NBA reporter, Joseph Casciaro.

New Orleans helped Atlanta reinvent itself

The fact that the Atlanta Hawks are the league's hottest team - riding the franchise's longest winning streak in 11 years - is a story in itself. But it's how the Hawks (winners of 11 straight) got here that makes the tale so fascinating. It also helps explain why the team had zero qualms about selling low on four-time All-Star and former franchise player Trae Young.

When Atlanta traded control of up to four first-round draft picks for Dejounte Murray four years ago and then handed him a $114-million extension, the franchise appeared doomed to perpetual mediocrity. Murray joined Young in an ill-fitting backcourt that had "play-in team" written all over it. To no one's surprise, the Hawks played .470 ball in the duo's two seasons together, with two play-in appearances and one first-round playoff series to show for it. The uninspiring squad had an obvious ceiling and few avenues for improvement.

Then the Pelicans came calling with a lifeline. During the 2024 offseason, New Orleans traded for Murray and the four years that remained on his contract at the time, netting Atlanta a package that included Dyson Daniels and two first-round picks. It might've seemed like the Hawks mismanaged their assets by receiving less for Murray than they'd given up for him two years prior. But the transaction gave them a chance to reset and reinvent themselves.

The Murray-for-Daniels swap laid the foundation for everything that's come since, providing Atlanta with much-needed financial breathing room and future-oriented assets.

Daniels immediately emerged as one of the NBA's best defensive players while earning one-fifth of Murray's salary, wreaking havoc in passing lanes and on the perimeter. Meanwhile, 2021 first-round pick Jalen Johnson was flashing signs of franchise-level stardom if he could just stay healthy.

Eventually, Atlanta extended both players on what already look like two of the league's biggest bargain contracts (even if Daniels' shooting remains a glaring concern). Johnson's deal, in particular, seems outrageous in hindsight. The 24-year-old is in the running for downballot MVP votes but will earn just $30 million per year over the next four seasons. That's roughly 15%-18% of the annual salary cap in a league where most superstars earn 25%-35%, if not more.

One of the few NBA deals somehow providing more surplus value also belongs to a Hawk. 2025 free-agency acquisition Nickeil Alexander-Walker could be a borderline All-Star while earning less than 10% of the cap over the next two years. And yet, Alexander-Walker wasn't even Atlanta's most consequential addition of the offseason. For that, the Hawks once again have the Pelicans to thank.

In a desperate bid to trade up and draft Maryland big man Derik Queen - a talented offensive player with major defensive and conditioning questions - New Orleans handed the Hawks a precious gem. A year after taking Murray off Atlanta's hands, and with both teams led by different executives than those who executed the Murray deal, the Pelicans sent the Hawks swap rights they previously held with Milwaukee. That means Atlanta will receive the more favorable of the Pelicans' and Bucks' 2026 first-rounders.

If the season ended today, those combined odds would give the Hawks a 10.5% chance of selecting first overall in what's being touted as a historic draft class. That's equivalent to entering the lottery with the league's fifth-worst record. The Hawks are far from that - they enter play Friday at 38-31.

That record has once again put Atlanta in the thick of the Eastern Conference play-in race, but as Hawks fans are learning, there's a massive difference between feeling doomed to such a destiny and being excited by it - between seeing it as limbo and seeing it as a stepping stone for a young team. Within two years, the Hawks went from jogging indefinitely on the treadmill of mediocrity to boasting perhaps the East's rosiest outlook.

The Hawks have made some great decisions during that time, but no one has done more to alter Atlanta's trajectory than the Pelicans. Perhaps this gives fans of going-nowhere clubs a reason for hope. All it takes is one (even more) foolish franchise to bail you out.

Disappointing Magic can still make noise

App user glegaree16307 wanted to know who the season's most disappointing team is and which underperforming club is most likely to turn things around. The answer to both questions might be the Magic.

The Warriors and Rockets are in the conversation, but Golden State's ambitions plummeted when Jimmy Butler was lost for the season in what was already an injury-riddled campaign for the Dubs. As for Houston, even with Kevin Durant in the fold, the team's half-court issues were entirely predictable once Fred VanVleet tore his ACL before training camp.

The Magic have faced plenty of their own injury-related adversity. Franz Wagner has missed more than half the season, while the oft-injured but invaluable Jalen Suggs has missed 23 games. Still, Orlando went just 8-8 in the 16 games Wagner and Paolo Banchero shared the court, and some stylistic friction was evident between the two forwards. When the Magic traded control of four first-rounders for Desmond Bane last summer, it was supposed to at least propel the team to fringe contention, not leave it stuck in play-in range.

But even as Orlando enters the weekend on a three-game losing streak (which was preceded by a seven-game win streak), Magic fans still have cause for optimism. Unlike Butler and VanVleet, Wagner is expected back at some point this season. Meanwhile, Banchero has rounded into form after a disappointing start to the year. He's averaging roughly 25 points, nine rebounds, and six assists over his last 16 games, during which the Magic have gone 10-6. Plus, Bane has quietly lived up to the hype, averaging 20.6 points while shooting 54% inside the arc, 39% from deep, and 93% from the free-throw line.

"(Bane) knew coming in that there's always an adjustment period with a new team, new guys, the rotation - guys being in and out of the lineup," head coach Jamahl Mosley told theScore. "But he's a pro. He's a winner, so he was doing whatever was necessary to fit in the right way with the team (at first). Once he understood exactly how the flow was going - you know, he understands who he is as a player - his dominance and confidence (came out)."

If they can just get to the postseason healthy, the Magic have multiple oversized shot-creators in Banchero and Wagner, an efficient connector in Bane, a two-way glue-guy in Suggs, and solid contributors like Anthony Black, Wendell Carter Jr., and Tristan da Silva. In the small sample when Banchero, Wagner, Bane, and Suggs shared the court, Orlando performed like a top-two team on both ends.

Whatever questions remain about how Banchero and Wagner can coexist in the future, no top East seed wants to face a healthy Magic squad in the playoffs.

Bonus answer: The Timberwolves. Minnesota owns the league's sixth-worst record against the spread, and among the league's top-10 teams overall, the Wolves are the only one with a losing record against winning clubs. Still, with (the currently injured) Anthony Edwards running the crunch-time offense and the bones of an elite defense still intact, no one should be shocked if Minnesota finds itself in a third straight conference final this spring.

Inside the locker room

What I'm hearing from players and people around the Association.

In my discussions with players and coaches about various rookies this season, no one's been touted for their basketball IQ more than Raptors big man Collin Murray-Boyles. The ninth overall selection's combination of defense, playmaking, and toughness has attracted comparisons to Warriors legend Draymond Green, a basketball genius in his own right.

Even in hazing the rookie by filling his car with popcorn, Murray-Boyles' teammates couldn't help but laud his on-court smarts. "I tell people all the time, and this is the problem, (why) we popcorned his car," Raptors guard Immanuel Quickley joked. "He acts like he's been in the league for so long.

"His basketball IQ is really high, really elite. He's very mature in the fact that he knows where to be on the floor. He's always two steps ahead offensively and defensively. He grabs a lot of ideas and different tactics really quickly. He'll do something like catch a short-roll pass and fire it to the corner without even looking. Certain stuff, you're just like, 'Whoa.' That's stuff you learn from being in the league four or five years."

Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic has noticed it, too. "His attention to detail and ability to retain information are super impressive. ... A lot of young players don't have that quality. They need a lot of reps. They need to go over things," Rajakovic said. He added that he can address something one time with Murray-Boyles and the 20-year-old will still be doing it correctly weeks later. "That is super, super rare."

Rajakovic also noted that the rookie put in work with assistant coach Ivo Simovic to maximize his effectiveness in the dunker spot - a much different offensive role than the one Murray-Boyles played at South Carolina.

"You have to know when to move and when to get out of players' way when they're trying to get to the rim," Murray-Boyles told theScore, stressing that filling the dunker spot isn't as easy as people assume. "That's the biggest part that nobody really knows if they don't play basketball: how much of a thinking game (being in the dunker spot) really is, to maneuver and not be a clogger, in a sense. Just to get out of the way of everybody else."

The Raptors hope to get Murray-Boyles back on their current road trip after he missed the last nine games due to a thumb injury.

Player of the week

Luka Doncic: 41.5 PPG, 64.5% TS, 8.3 RPG, 7.5 APG, 3.1 STL + BLK, 4-0 record

Victor Wembanyama, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Jalen Duren all deserve praise for their recent performances, with the latter now carrying the load for the Cade Cunningham-less first-place Pistons. But for the second straight week, Doncic takes theScore's weekly award (which takes into account games played since last Friday).

Doncic has averaged roughly 41 points per game during the Lakers' eight-game win streak, shooting 60% from 2-point range and 42% from deep while playing some of the most inspired defense of his career. Doncic's torrid stretch - capped by a 60-point effort in Miami - has vaulted the Lakers into third place out West. It's also lifted the six-time All-Star to second place in MVP debates (behind reigning MVP Gilgeous-Alexander), leapfrogging Nikola Jokic, Wembanyama, Cunningham, and Jaylen Brown.

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