Western Conference Rival Eyeing Lakers All-Star Trade Target
With your 2023-24 Los Angeles Lakers having multiple ups and downs this season, there have been many calls for the team to make some moves at the trade deadline. They have ranged from Los Angeles making a trade for a third star, or for the team to just upgrade around the edges.
Some names that have been thrown around lately have been guard Zach LaVine of the Chicago Bulls and Dejounte Murray of the Atlanta Hawks. Both would help upgrade the Lakers roster, but Murray may be more of a realistic target.
However, it seems that the Lakers will likely have some competition for Murray from an unlikely source. Murray's old team, the San Antonio Spurs, are interested in a potential reunion with the guard, per Shams Charania of FanDuel.
"Dejounte Murray is trade eligible starting today," Charania writes. "One team that has a level of exploratory interest I'm told, is his former team, the San Antonio Spurs."
San Antonio having an interest in Murray is a bit surprising, but they likely believe that he would pair well with rookie sensation Victor Wembanyama. Murray landing with the Spurs would make the Western Conference even tougher for the Lakers, so the hope is that he goes elsewhere.
Murray would be great for LA, but the issue is that they lack assets to trade for him. The team would likely need to trade away guard Austin Reaves in any deal, and so far, the front office has been hesitant to include Reaves in any trade talks.
There are plenty of other teams across the NBA who can offer more to potential trade partners, which makes things difficult for the Lakers. Los Angeles general manager Rob Pelinka will need to find different ways to be creative in any trade deals this season, and hopefully, he can work his magic once again.
