The NBA trade deadline is officially in the books and the Los Angeles Lakers might be considered one of the biggest losers.
The Lakers were reportedly interested in numerous players like Dejounte Murray and Bruce Brown but wound up standing pat instead. Barely hanging on to a Play-In Tournament spot, Los Angeles could’ve used reinforcements but appear content to try their luck in the buyout market.
Murray almost seemed like a lock to end up with the Lakers at one point because of how much smoke there was about his availability. However, the Atlanta Hawks decided to keep him presumably in hopes of extracting more assets in a deal down the line.
According to via Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports, Atlanta used the deadline to gauge league interest in Murray and what potential trade packages could look like in the offseason with the Lakers potentially circling back:
“That is also the calculus in Atlanta, sources said, where the Hawks have messaged since the beginning of this trade period that the front office was not absolutely resigned to trading guard Dejounte Murray. The 27-year-old former All-Star has yet to begin the four-year, $114 million extension he signed this past offseason, and the Hawks will enter June and July with a very clear understanding of several teams’ valuations of Murray. League personnel expect Los Angeles, of course, to re-engage Atlanta over Murray, and New Orleans will have the opportunity to resume conversations the Pelicans held with the Hawks this week.”
More interesting, though, is that Trae Young could become available if the team underwhelms down the stretch of the 2023-24 season and he is someone the Lakers have long had interest in:
“The Lakers certainly won’t limit their thinking to Murray. There are several front offices that listened to Atlanta’s pre-deadline chatter and came away from conversations with the Hawks of the belief Trae Young could become available for trade this summer — depending on Atlanta’s outcome for the remainder of this campaign.”
Los Angeles will always be in the hunt for stars and Young’s skillset meshes well alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis. A scoring guard who can space the floor and playmake for others, Young is theoretically ideal for the Lakers though acquiring him would likely cost them most, if not all, their valuable assets.
Lakers believe they could acquire Donovan Mitchell
The purple and gold aren’t just limiting their imaginations to Young as there is reportedly some internal belief they could pry star guard Donovan Mitchell from the Cleveland Cavaliers.
With the Lakers standing pat at the deadline, they will have three first-round picks at their disposal to chase one of these stars.
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