{"id":60299,"date":"2023-12-26T12:57:35","date_gmt":"2023-12-26T17:57:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=60299"},"modified":"2023-12-26T12:57:35","modified_gmt":"2023-12-26T17:57:35","slug":"nba-trade-rumors-lakers-could-target-hawks-guard-dejounte-murray","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2023\/12\/26\/nba-trade-rumors-lakers-could-target-hawks-guard-dejounte-murray\/","title":{"rendered":"NBA Trade Rumors: Lakers Could Target Hawks Guard Dejounte Murray"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Following the Lakers\u2019 Christmas Day loss to the Celtics, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/j\/jamesle01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><b>LeBron James<\/b><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/LakersDailyCom\/status\/1739449793318117717?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">told reporters<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: \u201cI don\u2019t think we\u2019re where we wanna be to be able to compete against the top teams.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The comment comes amid plenty of <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2023\/12\/14\/nba-rumors-zach-lavines-camp-interested-in-trade-to-the-lakers\/\" target=\"_self\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">trade speculation<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for LA, headlined primarily by Bulls star <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/l\/lavinza01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><b>Zach LaVine<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. With the purple and gold standing at 16-15 (9th in the West), it has raised another conversation over whether or not they need a third star\u2014or another trade in general.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">New reporting from Shams Charania indicates that LaVine isn\u2019t the only big-name guard on the Lakers\u2019 wish list.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">&quot;One more player to keep an eye on I&#39;m told, a potential target for the Lakers, Hawks guard Dejounte Murray.&quot;<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ShamsCharania?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@ShamsCharania<\/a> on potential trade targets for the Lakers.<\/p>\n<p>\ud83d\udcfa: <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/wdT8I0ST8g\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/wdT8I0ST8g<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/xtY6gCF2FO\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/xtY6gCF2FO<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RunItBackFDTV\/status\/1739667668616249559?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">December 26, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h2><b>NBA Trade Rumors: Lakers Could Target Hawks Guard Dejounte Murray<\/b><\/h2>\n<h3><b>Background<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">27-year-old <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/m\/murrade01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><b>Dejounte Murray<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> has risen to prominence over the last few seasons. He was named an All-Star with the Spurs in 2022, and was viewed as the perfect backcourt partner for <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/y\/youngtr01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><b>Trae Young<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> when Murray was moved to Atlanta that summer. He made key contributions in his first year with the Hawks, averaging 20.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 1.5 steals.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, the first year of the Young-Murray duo also came with a first-round exit. The Hawks fell to the Boston Celtics in six games. While Young averaged a blistering 29 points and ten assists, Murray boasted 23 points, 5.4 rebounds, 6.8 assists and two steals per game.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This year, the Hawks are currently out of the playoff picture (12-17, 11th in the East), but it hasn\u2019t stopped Murray from producing star numbers. After 29 games (all starts), Murray is averaging 20.3 points, 4.4 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 1.6 steals. He\u2019s shooting 46% from the field, 38% from three and 83% from the free-throw line. The Hawks have not made Murray available in trade talks at this time, especially considering the haul it took to get him. But given their recent struggles, it makes sense for GM Landry Fields to explore other options toward improvement\u2014even if that means splitting up the star duo.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>How Dejounte Murray Helps the Lakers<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Lakers rank 28th in threes made per game (10.9) and 22nd in three-point percentage (35.6%). However, they\u2019re also 11th in defensive rating (113)\u2014they stood at sixth before Christmas\u2014and 15th in steals per game (7.5). Murray is a proven 3-and-D guard who would help the Lakers tremendously in both areas. He\u2019s made 68 threes this season (25th in the league) and has racked up 45 steals\u2014good for 4th in the league. Murray would also excel in transition, as the Hawks are the fifth in pace rating (102.2) while the Lakers are ninth (100.8).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Another appeal towards trading for Murray is his contract. Murray\u2019s current salary ($18.3 million) is easier to match than Zach LaVine\u2019s ($40 million). He also has a four-year, $120 million extension that will kick in after this season.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Murray\u2019s skill set and contract make him an ideal target for the Lakers, who will need more reinforcements now that <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/v\/vincega01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><b>Gabe Vincent<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> will undergo knee surgery.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As far as the Lakers\u2019 offer, it would have to be a package around <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/r\/russeda01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><b>D\u2019Angelo Russell<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, whose inconsistent play led to a switch in the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2023\/12\/24\/lakers-news-new-lineup-breaks-losing-streak-plus-gabe-vincent-update\/\" target=\"_self\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">starting five<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Murray would be a clear upgrade over Russell, who\u2014by his own admission\u2014isn\u2019t a defensive player:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">D&#39;Angelo Russell on his defense: &quot;That&#39;s where I try to be better, but that&#39;s not what I do.&quot;<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Lakers Daily (@LakersDailyCom) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/LakersDailyCom\/status\/1738063744083939329?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">December 22, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Lakers&#8217; best bet towards landing Murray is throwing in Russell, a young player and some draft capital. However, it\u2019s unlikely that such a package will be enough to compete with teams who have better assets.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>The Last Word<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Lakers\u2019 interest in Dejounte Murray isn\u2019t entirely surprising, as he fits the profile for any of LA\u2019s trade targets: a young player who can slide in as a third or fourth option and alleviate their shooting and defensive concerns. Their exact level of interest\u2014and the Hawks\u2019 willingness to trade Murray\u2014could change between now and February. But for now, the fact the Lakers are eyeing someone other than LaVine is encouraging enough.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Following the Lakers\u2019 Christmas Day loss to the Celtics, LeBron James told reporters: \u201cI don\u2019t think we\u2019re where we wanna be to be able to compete against the top teams.\u201d The comment comes amid plenty of trade speculation for LA, headlined primarily by Bulls star Zach LaVine. With the purple and gold standing at 16-15 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4265,"featured_media":60304,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,4,26,62,4721],"tags":[307,1262,38,4774,457],"class_list":["post-60299","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-hawks","category-lakers","category-nba","category-trade-rumors","tag-dangelo-russell","tag-dejounte-murray","tag-lebron-james","tag-rumors","tag-zach-lavine"],"modified_by":"Jordan Pagkalinawan","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60299","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4265"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=60299"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60299\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/60304"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60299"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=60299"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=60299"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}