Brooklyn emerges as a potential destination for Dejounte Murray

The Dejounte Murray trade rumors are flying and the Nets are getting involved.

© Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

Rumors are flying around a month before the NBA trade deadline. The Brooklyn Nets have Dorian Finney-Smith and Royce O’Neale involved in trade rumors, with a few teams showing interest.

There are limited reports about the team being interested in trading for new players, but they are getting named as a potential destination for Atlanta Hawks guard Dejounte Murray. He might be a good fit for the team since Murray-project in Atlanta has not worked out.

“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,” Jake Fischer wrote on Yahoo Sports. “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.”

How Murray fits into the Nets roster

Murray is a potential difference-maker for multiple teams because of what he brings to the team. He is a strong offensive player with his combination of scoring and playmaking. Dejounte is also a decent defender.

Getting Murray will be huge for Brooklyn because they would have a reliable point guard who is not injury-prone like Ben Simmons. Dejounte brings many similar qualities, as he’s an above-average playmaker and a defender ready for a challenge. The former Washington Husky is also a good scorer, an area where Ben struggles.

Dejounte also possesses good size and length at 6’5”, which fits well in the starting lineup. This opens the door for Cameron Thomas to rejoin the group after being replaced by Dorian Finney-Smith.

Murray has many potential landing spots

Atlanta has multiple suitors, the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat being the biggest names. The Nets have not shown interest just yet, but if they did, they have strong assets with the high-value Phoenix Suns draft picks they could use to entice the Hawks.

It’s unlikely that Brooklyn gets Dejounte, but if they become interested in acquiring the former All-Star, that would be a fantastic swing from general manager Sean Marks. They could still retain their core of Thomas, Mikal Bridges, Cameron Johnson, and Nic Claxton while having Dejounte as the point guard to solve the Ben Simmons conundrum. 

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