Getty Austin Reaves #15 of the Los Angeles Lakers.
The NBA draft is over, which means the new regime leading the Los Angeles Lakers can take aim at the free agent and trade markets that will determine their competitiveness next season.
LeBron James remains an elite-level player, but he turns 40 years old in December. Anthony Davis, meanwhile, is coming off by far the healthiest campaign of his five-year L.A. tenure having started 76 regular season games in 2023-24. And yet the Lakers clawed their way to the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference by way of the NBA Play-In Tournament and, while they were competitive, found themselves dismissed from the playoffs in just five games by the Denver Nuggets.
A postseason exit by way of the Nuggets following a Play-In berth has been the final scene in the script to both of Los Angeles’ past two years. With JJ Redick now in place of the departed Darvin Ham as head coach, the lineup clearly needs some tweaking if the Lakers hope to climb the mountain in Denver and subsequent peaks that may lay beyond in places like Minnesota, Oklahoma City or Dallas.
League insiders have focused most on a handful of possibilities via a trade, including combo guard Dejounte Murray of the Atlanta Hawks. Los Angeles doesn’t want to part with Austin Reaves as part of any deal, however. Kevin Pelton of ESPN authored a proposal on Tuesday, June 26, that would allow the Lakers to procure Murray without parting with Reaves.
Lakers May Be Able to Land Dejounte Murray for 2 First-Round Picks, 2 Rotation Players
GettyDejounte Murray of the Atlanta Hawks.
In Pelton’s pitch, Los Angeles would send Atlanta Gabe Vincent, Rui Hachimura and first-round picks in 2029 and 2031 in exchange for Murray.
When the Hawks made Murray available at the trade deadline, the Lakers could offer only a single first-round pick in either 2029 or 2030, plus swaps. That has changed now. With the New Orleans Pelicans choosing to defer the first-round pick the Lakers owe them next year, Los Angeles can offer the No. 17 pick as soon as it’s made, plus their picks in both 2029 and 2031.
Offering unprotected picks in both 2029 and 2031 seems fair, especially for a version of the trade that doesn’t net Atlanta Austin Reaves as a replacement for Murray in the backcourt.
Dejounte Murray Offers Extra Offense, Star Power Lakers Can Use
GettyAtlanta Hawks guards Dejounte Murray (left) and Trae Young (right).
Murray wasn’t a superstar defender in Atlanta last season, though he posted a career year in terms of scoring.
He averaged 22.5 points per game alongside backcourt partner Trae Young, while also putting up 6.4 assists, 5.3 rebounds and 1.4 steals each night. Murray shot 36.3% from behind the 3-point line on 7.1 attempts per game.
The Lakers need three-and-D players alongside James and Davis, and Murray’s increased accuracy along with his heightened willingness to let the deep balls fly is promising, especially considering he’s proven himself to possess All-Star talent overall. Murray made an All-Star game during the 2021-22 campaign, his last with the San Antonio Spurs before that organization traded him to Atlanta.
That said, Murray’s defensive rating was well below average last season. He produced a rating of 119.4, while the league average was 116.1. If Murray, who will play next season at 28 years old, can improve his defense and continue to hit the mark in terms of accuracy and volume from behind the arc, he would likely prove a valuable addition to the Lakers lineup.
Murray is playing on a four-year, $114 million deal that keeps him under contract through 2026-27 with a player option the following season — an exceedingly quality figure considering his talent and the current NBA salary scale.