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After the Los Angeles Lakers missed out on Dejounte Murray sweepstakes, 3-and-D wing De’Andre Hunter is the next Atlanta Hawks player generating trade buzz.
ESPN’s Tim MacMahon wondered on the September 9 episode of “The Hoop Collective” podcast if it’s worth a try for the Lakers to re-engage the Hawks in trade talks, this time for Hunter, with the same D’Angelo Russell-centered package that failed to land them Murray at the February trade deadline.
Hunter has three years left on his four-year, $90 million deal.
“The Hawks have been looking to unload De’Andre Hunter who is owed about 22 [million] this year, 23 [million] next year and 25 [million] the year after,” MacMahon said. “That’s not a great contract. Is it worth a team like the Lakers taking on that contract?”
The 6-foot-8 Hunter averaged 15.6 points and shot 38.5% from the 3-point range, both career highs, last season. But Jalen Johnson’s emergence has the Hawks shifting their priorities, making Hunter expendable.
D’Angelo Russell Holds the Key to a Lakers-Hawks Deal
MacMahon’s ESPN colleague and podcast co-host Brian Windhorst noted that the circumstances have changed which could soften the Hawks’ stance on a D’Angelo Russell-centric Lakers package.
“The Hawks went down this road last year with the Lakers,” Windhorst said. “There was a time where there was a lot of momentum, at least on the Lakers’ side, where they thought they had a great chance to get Dejounte Murray.”
Russell’s fit next to Trae Young and his $18 million player option, which he eventually picked up, stalled the deal that could have sent Murray to the Lakers to join fellow Klutch Sports clients LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
The Hawks ultimately traded Murray to the New Orleans Pelicans this offseason.
“At the end of the day, D’Angelo Russell being in that deal–and I don’t know if they were gonna have a third team or whatever–the Hawks weren’t down with that. At the end of the day, they weren’t going in that direction,” Windhorst continued. “So, you’d be going back to an old ground there where they had already said no, although, granted, they know that this would be the ending year of his contract, that’s a different situation.”
Lakers Urged to Return to LeBron James’ Winning Formula
The Lakers’ biggest weakness was perimeter defense which led to two Jamal Murray’s game-winning shots in their playoff loss to the Denver Nuggets last season.
Windhorst noted the Lakers had strong perimeter play when Cam Reddish had a solid stretch early in the season and in their Play-In Tournament title run. But Reddish, another former Hawk, could not sustain it as he was caught with the injury bug that derailed the Lakers season.
Windhorst urged the Lakers to get a solid 3-and-D wing who could cover for their defensively-challenged backcourt and optimize Davis at his best as their weak-side defender.
“If you go back to the formula we have seen with LeBron James that has worked for over a decade, you have LeBron James, another star player and then a bunch of guys who could shoot and guard around him,” Windhorst said. “That formula works. So if the Lakers can find a way to get closer to that formula they have a chance to be a pretty good team in the West and if they can get a couple of those guys, maybe they can be an interesting team.”
James’ strong play in Team USA’s Olympic gold medal run gives the Lakers a sliver of hope of contention which comes with pressure on their front office to deliver a strong supporting cast.
Even if James is turning 40 this December, oddsmakers still have him as a +5500 underdog, just outside the top 10 sports betting favorites to win the NBA Finals MVP.
In the absence of trade, the Lakers’ best bet, according to Windhorst, is to develop Max Christie, who they rewarded with a four-year, $32 million contract, as quickly as possible to be their 3-and-D wing.
