Atlanta Hawks guard Dejounte Murray seems to be the most likely name moved at the NBA trade deadline as there is plenty of smoke regarding his availability.
The Hawks have been stuck in no-man’s land the past couple of seasons and appear finally ready to reshape the roster and rebuild around Trae Young. The Hawks have signaled that Young is unavailable, leaving Murray as the most logical player to get moved in exchange for young players and assets.
Like the 2022-23 season, there appear to be more buyers than sellers and the Los Angeles Lakers fall in the former category as they try to dig themselves out of the bottom of the Western Conference standings. Los Angeles has several needs they need to address on their roster, and they recently were reported to be having serious discourse with Atlanta over Murray.
According to Jovan Buha of The Athletic, the Lakers and Hawks had the framework of a deal done but talks have stalled and will pick up closer to the deadline:
“The Murray buzz is only increasing — and to noisy levels. The Lakers and Hawks have discussed potential frameworks of a deal, including a version late last week that centered on Russell, Hood-Schifino, the 2029 first-round pick and additional draft compensation, according to multiple team and league sources. Talks have since stalled, but are expected to pick back up closer to the deadline.”
At this point, it feels like Los Angeles is all-in on acquiring Murray as he is on a reasonable contract and would provide some much-needed scoring and playmaking at the guard position. Murray’s defense has slipped after assuming more offensive responsibility, but the team could be thinking he can regain his form on that end playing alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
Murray’s connection with Klutch Sports is also a factor in trade talks as the Lakers have several clients on the roster including James and Davis. The proposed framework sounds like an acceptable cost for Los Angeles, though it remains to be seen if Atlanta will get a better offer in the coming weeks.
Lakers have no interested in trading Austin Reaves for Dejounte Murray
After making several trades the past few seasons, the Lakers are short on attractive draft assets to throw in a deal. L.A.’s best trade chip is Austin Reaves who’s on a team-friendly deal for at least the next three years, but the team isn’t willing to swap him for Murray at this juncture.
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