The Los Angeles Lakers struck out on a laundry list of veteran targets this offseason. One of the most prominent ones was shooting guard Dejounte Murray, who the Atlanta Hawks traded to the New Orleans Pelicans.
There was one major roadblock that prevented the Lakers from landing the 27-year-old, via ESPN’s Brian Windhorst.
“The Hawks went down this road last year with the Lakers. 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,” Windhorst said. “At the end of the day, D’Angelo Russell being in that deal, and I don’t know if it was they were going to have a third team or whatever, but the Hawks weren’t down with that.”
Atlanta thought Murray, who scored 22.5 points on 45.9% shooting with 5.3 boards and 6.4 assists per game last year, demanded a top-tier return in a trade. It ended up with Dyson Daniels, Cody Zeller, Larry Nance, E.J. Liddell, and two first-round picks from New Orleans. Daniels is a 21-year-old shooting guard out of Australia, and was drafted eighth overall by the Pelicans in 2022.
Russell, however, isn’t near Murray’s level, and Los Angeles didn’t have the same level of draft capital and depth pieces to offer as New Orleans did. “DLo” scored 18 points on 45.6% shooting with 3.1 rebounds and 6.3 rebounds per game last year.
While the trade was generally considered a fair one around the league, it received a couple votes as both the worst and most surprising moves of the offseason by a panel of 18 NBA coaches, scouts, and executives, via ESPN.
However, the Lakers and Hawks may still make a deal.
The Lakers could be a destination for D’Andre Hunter
Los Angeles may be a good fit for Hunter, via ESPN’s Tim McMahon (same Hoops Collective podcast).
“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?”
Hunter, who averaged 15.6 points on 45.9% shooting with 3.9 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game last year, could provide the Lakers’ front-court with some extra punch. However, Los Angeles will have to make sure it can fit his hefty price tag under its salary cap.
