Getty Rob Pelinka, vice president of basketball operations and general manager of the Los Angeles Lakers.
Will the third time finally be a charm for the Los Angeles Lakers?
After failing twice — during the free agency and recently with the Indiana Pacers — to acquire Bruce Brown, the Lakers continue to search for ways to finally land him, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
“You go back to the summer, and they had some confidence that they might be able to sign Bruce Brown in free agency until Indiana stepped up and offered the two-year, $45 million [deal],” Wojnarowski said on NBA Today on January 22. “They didn’t get him. He goes to Indiana. The Lakers tried to see if they could trade for Bruce Brown from the Pacers, [they] didn’t get him. He goes to Toronto as part of the Pascal Siakam deal and they’re going to continue to be on the phone with Toronto between now and the trade deadline, trying to see if there’s a way that they can get Bruce Brown.”
“Listen, he was part of the group that eliminated the Lakers in the playoffs last year. You’ve seen his impact on winning teams in the playoffs.”
Bruce Brown’s Hefty Price Tag
According to NBA insider Marc Stein, the Raptors have set a high price for the 6-foot-4 Brown in their bid to add more draft capital to the original Pascal Siakam trade.
“The Raptors’ asking price for teams interested in acquiring Bruce Brown has been described as a future first-round pick and a quality player … at a minimum.
Toronto knows that a variety of contending teams are interested in Brown, noting his contributions to Denver’s title run last season, making the Raptors hopeful they can spark some robust bidding for a player with both championship pedigree and a team-friendly contract,” Stein wrote in his January 21 substack newsletter.
The Lakers have one 2029 first-round draft pick, a couple of pick swaps and quality players like D’Angelo Russell, Rui Hachimura and Gabe Vincent at their disposal in any in-season trade to upgrade their roster.
The Holdup in Dejounte Murray Trade
Aside from Brown, the Lakers’ best trade asset — 2029 first-round draft pick — is in play for a much bigger trade for Dejounte Murray. However, it appears that draft capital is not enough for the Atlanta Hawks.
“The Lakers and Hawks did have some pretty extensive conversations about a Dejounte Murray trade a couple of weeks ago,” Shams Charania said on Fanduel TV’s “Run It Back” on January 22. It was centered around D’Angelo Russell, a 2029 first-round draft pick, and a pick swap. I’m told the holdup was that Atlanta wanted to find a third team for D’Angelo Russell.”
The Hawks want to flip Russell for more draft assets to come close to what they gave up for Murray.
Two summers ago, Atlanta surrendered three first-round picks and a pick swap to San Antonio for Murray.
The 27-year-old Murray has been on a tear lately.
Over his past 4 games, Murray averaged 26.8 points, 6.8 rebounds, 6.8 assists and 1.7 steals.
Russell, too, is playing his best stretch with the Lakers. Over his last 5 games, Russell averaged 27.2 points and 6.4 assists while shooting at a ridiculous rate of 66.7% from the field and 54.5% from 3.