Getty Head coach Darvin Ham (L) and vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka of the Los Angeles Lakers talk before a preseason game against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Aformer All-Star guard and a championship-caliber role player are on top of the Los Angeles Lakers‘ wish list as trade deadline looms.
The Athletic’s Shams Charania expects the Lakers to continue their trade talks for either Dejounte Murray or Bruce Brown leading to the February 8 trade deadline.
“The Lakers, I’m told, they continue to monitor two players,” Charania said on the January 24 episode of “Run It Back” on FanDuel TV. “The two guys at the forefront of their targets list going to the trade deadline are Dejounte Murray of Atlanta and Bruce Brown Jr. of Toronto. I expect those conversations to continue in the next two weeks.”
The Lakers are the only team who had substantive talks with the Atlanta Hawks for Murray. The sticking point of their previous trade talks is the inclusion of Austin Reaves, who the Lakers are adamantly keeping off the table.
Atlanta remains steadfast in its asking price of a pair of first-round picks plus a starting-level player, according to Yahoo Sports’ Jake Fischer.
Los Angeles offered the resurgent D’Angelo Russell, a 2029 first-round draft pick, and a pick swap for Murray.
The Athletic’s Sam Amick reported that the Lakers are the frontrunners in the Murray sweepstakes.
“It’s a question of like how long does [Hawks general manager] Landry Fields hold out but it feels like that Lakers have separated themselves from the Dejounte pack and it feels like to some degree, they’ve locked in on him as a guy that they think can help them,” Amick said on the January 23 episode of “The Athletic NBA Show” podcast.
On the other hand, Brown has been on the Lakers’ radar since the offseason.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Lakers tried to acquire him from Indiana and will continue to talk with Toronto.
Lakers Angling for Trae Young or Donovan Mitchell
After pushing all their chips to a Russell Westbrook trade that ultimately backfired, the Lakers are mulling another “all-in” deal for a star, according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.
“The Lakers have discussed internally the possibility of packaging three picks, along with players they already have on their books, to pursue a bona fide star, such as Donovan Mitchell of the Cleveland Cavaliers or Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks, team sources told ESPN,” McMenamin wrote on January 23.
If the Lakers elect not to pursue Murray or Brown at the trade deadline, they will have access to 3 tradable first-round picks beginning in June’s NBA Draft.
Young will enter the third season of a five-year, $215 million max deal next season. On the other hand, Mitchell will enter next season with only one guaranteed year left in his five-year, $163 million contract. The Cavaliers star is expected to decline his player option after next season.
D’Angelo Russell Continues Stellar Play in Lakers Loss
With LeBron James out due to ankle injury, Russell took the scoring cudgels anew.
Russell dropped 27 points and 10 assists on Tuesday, January 23, but his effort went for naught as the Los Angeles Clippers held on to a 127-116 win.
Over his last six games, Russell averaged 27.2 points and 7.0 assists on 40% 3-point shooting.