Rumors of a possible trade with the Los Angeles Lakers have put Dejounte Murray, a former All-Star guard who plays for the Atlanta Hawks, in the news lately.
Report: D’Angelo Russell’s “strong play” is hurting Dejounte Murray’s chances of staying with the Lakers. [t.co/RpHhXCQX1r]
— January 28, 2024, NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral)
The two legendary teams have reportedly had “little-to-no-trade dialogue” recently, according to NBA insider Marc Stein.
According to league sources, there hasn’t been much to no trade discussion regarding former All-Star Dejounte Murray between the Hawks and Lakers in recent days.
Though trade discussions are often a moving target this time of year and are easily reignited, one person briefed on the discussions described Murray joining the Lakers by this Sunday’s deadline as “unrealistic.”
Should Atlanta choose to let Murray go before the end of the current season, the Lakers have been mentioned as a potential destination for him.
Some believe that Los Angeles would be the ideal location given his stellar recent performance statistics. He has been tipping the scales with an average of 27.5 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 6.4 assists per game since making his way back into the starting lineup. He also makes 52.3 percent of his field goals and 54.2 percent of his free throws.
D’Angelo Russell is on the other side of the equation. The Lakers have won five of their last eight games and are on a fairly decent trajectory since Russell returned to the starting lineup.
The Lakers should give this some serious thought before upending their core group by dealing Russell.
One of the reasons for that is D’Angelo Russell’s excellent performance this month.
Russell has a $18.6 million player option for the upcoming season, and in their prior discussions, Atlanta had been unwilling to include him unless a third team could be found to take on his contract.
Russell was reportedly offered a 2029 first-round pick and a 2029 first-round pick by the Lakers.
As @TheSteinLine reported, the Lakers and Hawks are still in talks about trading for Dejounte Murray, and I can confirm that these talks have remained quiet. It’s worth noting that during this season, a single phone call can reignite discussions.
— January 28, 2024, Trevor Lane (@Trevor_Lane)
Looking more closely at Murray’s stats for the season, we can see that he is averaging a very respectable 21.4 points, 5. rebounds, and 5.1 assists per game.
Furthermore, his current field goal and three-point percentage are 38.8 and 46.9 percent, respectively.
It’s interesting to note that Lakers stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis and Murray both possess a lot of the same dynamic play on the Atlanta Hawks.
If a trade takes place, this might result in a seamless transition.
But in the previous NBA season, the Lakers were very good in the regular season.
They were propelled to the Western Conference Finals of the playoffs by their well-timed trade deadline acquisitions, which included Russell.
After winning back-to-back games, the Lakers are currently ranked ninth in the Western Conference.
After making a respectable first impression, the team is now one game over.500 at 24-23.
Murray may be an improvement for the Lakers, but there is a significant chance that he won’t mesh well with the current group.
Russell is currently playing well, so losing him could damage the team’s hard-earned camaraderie.
