The NBA trade deadline is rapidly approaching and the Los Angeles Lakers are in perhaps their most precarious part of the season. They’ve dropped below .500 and have had locker room and on-court issues that are decreasing confidence in their current roster to turn things around. L.A. has been looking externally, with their most frequent rumored target being Dejounte Murray of the Atlanta Hawks.
The Hawks have been toying with the idea of trading Murray as a four-year extension kicks in this offseason, and his price may be higher than they are willing to pay for a consistently middle-of-the-road team. The Lakers, meanwhile, would get a boost defensively from their current backcourt of D’Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves while getting a player in the midst of one of his best offensive seasons.
Murray is not the Lakers only target, however, as they may be looking into a list of players currently playing for the Brooklyn Nets while continuing to monitor Murray’s situation, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic on FanDuel TV:
“The Lakers have been consistently inconsistent, you see it in their record and we’ve talked about the disconnect that exists within that locker room, Darvin Ham, it doesn’t seem like that’s really gone away. They have not made a coaching change, I think when you look at it, the lineup discourse has continued. When you look at the roster, you think about what tweaks you can make. They really have two options that they can go for right now, you either stand pat and you decide that this is the team that’s got to figure it out, or you feel like there’s a move you can make that can take you to the next level and you make tweaks to the roster. That’s what’s easiest, that’s what’s probably the route that you’re looking at if you’re the Lakers. Zach LaVine is a player they’ve had interest in, but that three years and $140 million after this season just makes it somewhat unpalatable for the Lakers. So that’s why Dejounte Murray, he’s is going to continue to emerge as the top target for the Lakers, from what I’m told. The sides, I expect talks to resume before the deadline next Thursday. But even beyond that, you think about other options. Another scenario to keep an eye on, players that the Lakers do have interest in I’m told, is three guys from the Nets: Dorian Finney-Smith, Spencer Dinwiddie, Royce O’Neale. If you can get a guard and some wing depth in your rotation, in your backcourt, in your frontcourt, I think that’s an avenue the Lakers could look into, guys that can play 3-and-D and play multiple positions.”
The Nets are one of the most intriguing teams ahead of the deadline. They are a rare team that is not good enough to compete but has several players that are coveted league-wide. This is beacuse their roster is comprised almost entirely of high-end role players. Dorian Finney-Smith, Spencer Dinwiddie and Royce O’Neale could all be huge helps for L.A.
The Lakers have about eight days to pick their direction and make something happen if they choose.
Lakers’ LeBron James posts cryptic tweet with NBA trade deadline looming
Lakers star LeBron James is certainly not helping quiet any noise around the trade deadline. After losing to the Hawks and falling below .500 on the season, James was frustrated with the team’s inconsistency and then took to social media to post a cryptic hourglass tweet.
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