The Lakers may have found the ideal trade target to pursue after recent reports that the Atlanta Hawks are considering moving on from Dejounte Murray, a player they traded the farm for just two seasons ago. Naturally, the Lakers have already been reported to be interested in acquiring Murray, but there doesn’t seem to be an obvious trade package that could make this deal happen.
The Hawks will want to recoup as many draft assets as they can in a Murray trade given everything they gave to the Spurs to land him. The Lakers cannot fill Atlanta’s pockets with picks, but they have plenty of interesting players that the Hawks could use to maintain their trajectory as a win-now franchise. They haven’t missed the playoffs since 2020 and could use a cast of high-level rotational players instead of just picks.
There are various combinations with which the 16-15 Lakers can try and land Murray. Without further ado, let’s look at three such packages that could be used by LA in a trade.
Trade Scenario 1
Atlanta Hawks Receive: Austin Reaves, Max Christie, 2029 First-Round Pick (LAL)
Los Angeles Lakers Receive: Dejounte Murray
The hardest decision for the Lakers in any trade they do is the inclusion of Austin Reaves. Reaves is averaging 15.5 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 4.9 assists, emerging as the third-most reliable offensive option for the Lakers over the last two seasons. He shrugged off a slow start to the year and is crucial to the Lakers offense as the only reliable guard that can impact the game. The Lakers have made him untouchable before, but including him makes a potential Murray trade much easier.
Along with Reaves, the future upside of Max Christie could be something the Hawks can use. Christie is averaging 4.2 points and 2.4 rebounds in limited minutes but could be a menace 3-and-D player in the future. He’s already impressing fans with his skills and those skills could develop faster alongside a player like Trae Young.
A first-round pick is essentially non-negotiable, as there is no combination of players not named LeBron James or Anthony Davis that the Hawks would accept for Murray. Even with Dejounte averaging 20.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 5.3 assists, the Hawks value him enough to get a solid return back for him. not living up to the All-Defense caliber he showed in San Antonio before Atlanta traded for him.
Trade Scenario 2
Atlanta Hawks Receive: Rui Hachimura, Max Christie, Maxwell Lewis, 2029 First-Round Pick (LAL)
Los Angeles Lakers Receive: Dejounte Murray
Instead of giving up a highly valuable guard like Reaves, the Lakers could try and offer the Hawks more players that could be complementary to how they play. Rui Hachimura is an easy name to throw into this conversation, as the Hawks could use his switchable play in the frontcourt, especially with players such as De’Andre Hunter seemingly stalling in growth. Hachimura’s dynamic play on both ends of the court could help the Hawks, especially with Rui seemingly frustrated in the role the Lakers have given him. He’s averaging 11.5 points and 3.7 rebounds this season.
Hachimura has struggled to get a solid role within the Lakers rotation, which is more Darvin Ham’s fault than the Japanese forward. This could breed some contempt between coach and player, which would make it smart for the Lakers to try and get a guard like Murray for Hachimura. This would also give the Lakers the flexibility to possibly make another move centered around D’Angelo Russell to further strengthen the squad.
Maxwell Lewis is a very high-potential youngster the Lakers unearthed in the second round of this year’s draft. Giving up on that potential won’t be easy given the proven success stories the Lakers have found in the last few years, but they may have to include him in lieu of additional first-round picks to trade.
Trade Scenario 3
Atlanta Hawks Receive: D’Angelo Russell, Rui Hachimura, Jalen Hood-Schifino, 2029 First-Round Pick (LAL), 2025 Second-Round Pick (LAC), 2027 Second-Round Pick (LAL)
Los Angeles Lakers Receive: Dejounte Murray, Saddiq Bey
The most complicated deal sees the Lakers go all-out in trying to use the Hawks’ rotational players to find a home on their roster. D’Angelo Russell had a strong start to the season but is in the middle of a nightmarish December, averaging 10.4 points and 5.5 assists. His lack of defense would also scare the Hawks away from acquiring him, as a backcourt of Trae and Russell leaves a lot of defensive holes. However, the Lakers are offering every other tradeable asset they have to get Murray in a deal centered around Russell.
Hachimura still joins the Hawks but along with the Lakers 2023 first-round selection Jalen Hood-Schifino. JHS has barely gotten a chance to play for LA, playing just 6 games and averaging 8.8 minutes per game. With the success that Jaime Jacquez Jr. and Brandin Podziemski are enjoying, the Lakers might be ruining their selection. Instead of having to bring a rookie guard through their ranks as the team looks to fight for a title, they can use his value to land Murray.
JHS would be a genuine long-term option next to Trae as a talented combo guard with solid defensive chops. Along with Russell as a flamethrower and Hachimura as a Swiss army knife, the Hawks can use these pieces to also give up Saddiq Bey, who has averaged 12.9 points and 6.4 rebounds. The Lakers will give them extra second-round picks to get this done, reinforcing their two positions of need.
The Hawks Can Help The Lakers Save Their Season
Dejounte Murray isn’t the same player he was on the San Antonio Spurs just a few years ago. He isn’t even playing at the level we saw last season or through the first week of this season. It’s clear that Murray is struggling to fit in with the Hawks and could find success if he gets to play somewhere else. The backcourt fit with Young just hasn’t worked out, as the Hawks need to prioritize their homegrown star who is objectively a far superior offensive player than Murray.
If Dejounte is on the Lakers, he’d get a bigger role as the ball-handler. LeBron doesn’t seem to concerned with bringing the ball up as often as he used to, which is why he relies on the likes of Russell and Reaves to be consistent while playing. Murray is better than both Reaves and Russell, which will give the Lakers some peace of mind, especially if they retain Reaves and can form a backcourt of him and Murray.
His defensive chops couldn’t have disappeared, so the Lakers will also pray that Murray can rediscover that aspect of his game if he joins LA. Given the emphasis the Lakers put on defense, Murray definitely will have a far more increased work rate on that side of the ball as compared to what we’re seeing with the Hawks.
We sincerely appreciate and respect you as a reader of our site. It would help us a lot if you follow us on Google News because of the latest update.
Thanks for following us. We really appreciate your support.
