Getty New York Knicks Jalen Brunson goes to the basket against the Brooklyn Nets.
The New York Knicks are showing interest in multiple guards leading up to the NBA trade deadline. Dejounte Murray of the Atlanta Hawks continues to be the name that’s floating around as a possible option for a Knicks team that’s looking to be one of the better teams in the Eastern Conference with their recent play.
While the Knicks show interest, Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports that the Brooklyn Nets are mentioned as a team that’s an ideal landing spot for the All-Star guard.
“Brooklyn has been another potential Murray destination mentioned by multiple league personnel, as the Nets are seen as an ideal spot from Murray’s side of this dynamic, sources said. But Brooklyn and Atlanta haven’t shared significant dialogue to this point, sources said, and the Nets don’t appear to be actively pursuing Murray at this juncture.”
The Brooklyn Nets are in one of the weirdest situations in the entire NBA due to their draft assets. For a team that isn’t a true contender, or better yet, potentially one of the bottom half teams in the NBA, they don’t have much in terms of upcoming draft picks. According to Fanspo, they don’t own one of their first-round picks until the 2028 draft. While they have other first-round picks, it doesn’t do them much good to bottom out and tank.
Instead, Brooklyn now has to find a way to be competitive and meet somewhere in the middle of that. They either need to go all in and try to be a team that contends for a championship or trade other assets so that they get draft capital back in return.
The Knicks Have More Assets for Dejounte Murray
If the Knicks and Nets wanted to get into an asset battle and try to land Dejounte Murray, the Knicks would come out on top. The Knicks have multiple draft picks that they could part ways with in the next few years and while Brooklyn might have better players to give the Atlanta Hawks, they’ll likely be looking for draft assets that they can trade during the summertime to pair a player next to Trae Young.
In the same article, Fischer reported the Knicks interest once again:
“Murray has generated a substantial market during preliminary conversations around the league. The Hawks have been considered one of the more aggressive front offices this season, sources said, in terms of teams that have been willing to approach rival executives with actual trade concepts as opposed to general interest in specific players. And at this juncture, to varying degrees, the Lakers, Knicks, Sixers, Heat and Pistons are five suitors expected to engage Atlanta about acquiring Murray over the coming days and weeks before Feb 8:”
Brooklyn Has Work to Do
The Brooklyn Nets have work to do if they want to better their team heading into the trade deadline and after it. They certainly have talent on the team that could be part of a championship roster, but they lack a true All-Star or star type of player. Mikal Bridges was hoping to be that coming into the season, but he hasn’t emerged as that just yet.
While Murray has struggled in the past year and a half with the Hawks, he could potentially be that guy for them, similar to how he was with the San Antonio Spurs.