With Dejounte Murray no longer around, the Atlanta Hawks are now unquestionably Trae Young’s team once again.

The Hawks struggled to maximize the backcourt pairing of Young and Murray over the two years that they played together and they decided to put an end to their experiment this past offseason.

In exchange for Murray, Atlanta received four players–Dyson Daniels, E.J. Lidell, Larry Nance Jr., and Cody Zeller–along with two future first round picks from the New Orleans Pelicans. While none of the players that the Hawks acquired have a resume that can come close to Murray’s, the early indications suggest that this trade was a brilliant “addition by subtraction” move by the team.

Young thrived in his first official game since Murray was traded away, tallying 30 points, 14-of-16 free throw shooting, five rebounds, 12 assists, a steal, and a block in the Hawks’ 120-116 win versus the Brooklyn Nets in their season opener. He was the focal point of Atlanta’s offense for most of the evening, setting the tone early on with six assists in the first quarter alone. The three-time NBA All-Star also sealed the win for the Hawks as he hit a pair of free throws with two seconds remaining in the game. 

The 21-year-old Daniels, Young’s new partner in the Hawks’ starting backcourt, made the most of the new opportunity in his first game with the team. The third-year guard, who could not find playing time with the Pelicans in his two years with the team, finished with 15 points, five rebounds, two assists, five steals, and a block in 34 minutes. 

The defensive-oriented Daniels has the type of profile that should make him the perfect complement to the 6’1, 164-pound Young. He will be the primary defender of opponents’ top perimeter players and can also ably cover for any of Young’s defensive short-comings. On offense, Daniels will be an easy target for Young’s passes as a tall guard who can move well without the ball and finish at the rim.

Another player who fed off Young in their win was reserve center Onyeka Okongwu. The 23-year-old center vastly outplayed starter Clint Capela, recording 28 points on a near-immaculate 11-of-12 field goals, along with eight rebounds, an assist, and three blocks. His soft touch and above average shooting ability makes him another strong fit next to Young and if he continues playing like this, he should be able to take over the starting job from Capela within a few weeks.

The Hawks could have–and should have–won this game by a much larger margin, if not for their missed free throws. They made just 71.7% of their free throws as they missed 13 out of their 46 attempts. Fourth-year forward Jalen Johnson, fresh off signing a five-year, $150 million extension, was the primary culprit, making only three of his eight attempts.

Expectations are high for the 22-year-old heading into this season, and while his debut—11 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, and six turnovers—was uneven, all the elements are in place for Johnson to have an even bigger breakout campaign this year. 

The first overall pick of this year’s NBA Draft, Zaccharie Risacher, debuted for Atlanta during this game as well. The French wingman started the game off the bench and played 19 minutes where he scored seven points to kick off his NBA career.

As presently constructed, these Hawks might still need a season or two to develop before they can compete for one of the top spots in the ever-improving Eastern Conference. Nonetheless, with Young running the show, there will hardly be a dull moment for Atlanta this season and they should become League Pass favorites in the weeks to come. 

It may take some time before the Hawks get to fully stretch out their wings, but this young team’s journey back to relevance should be a fun one.