D’Angelo Russell’s recent uptick in form has brought interest in him from his former team, Brooklyn Nets.
Trade talks between the Lakers and Hawks over Dejounte Murray have seemingly stalled in the last few weeks. The Lakers have reportedly already made their best offer to Atlanta, offering D’Angelo Russell, Jalen Hood-Schifino, and draft compensation for Murray. But the Hawks’ lack of interest in acquiring D’Lo has been an impediment.
The Athletic’s Sam Amick has revealed that the Nets are being looked at as a legitimate destination for Russell and that they could be the third team in a Lakers-Hawks trade for Murray, with Brooklyn sending future compensation to the Hawks as Russell is routed to them.
“The holdup, as has been widely reported for quite some time, is the Hawks’ clear disinterest in taking back D’Angelo Russell and the need for a different landing spot for the Lakers guard as a result (Brooklyn is routinely highlighted by league sources as a Russell candidate here).”
Russell is a former Net, ending up with the franchise in 2017 after he was traded by the Lakers. It’d be funny to see him essentially retrace the steps of his career. His performance on the court in his last 14 games has been sensational, averaging 23.6 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 6.5 assists.
The Nets have major issues with their guard play. Spencer Dinwiddie has been awful all year. He is also a pending free agent and the Nets don’t necessarily see any value in keeping him around. Russell and Dinwiddie were teammates in Brooklyn before and could become that again, but D’Lo will likely be their primary guard option, with everyone else coming after him.
Should The Lakers Still Chase Dejounte Murray?
The trade deadline is in less than 48 hours and we haven’t seen any movement in the market in the last few days. It’s shaping up to be a quiet trade deadline, but some moves are bound to be made. If Murray gets traded, he’ll be the best player to switch teams during this year’s deadline, given the lack of major chatter on the market.
Murray’s trade won’t be as remarkable as the deals for Pascal Siakam, OG Anunoby, and James Harden, but it would be incredibly influential in the Western Conference. Murray is averaging 21.4 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 5.2 assists this season and would add an offensive spark to the Lakers guard play. He also has a proven record as a fantastic defender, but we haven’t seen that version of him since he left San Antonio.
The Lakers have an aggressive defensive system with neither of their starting guards being able to defend at a high level. If they get Murray, it’s with the hope that they can deploy him as a POA defender against other guards, especially with Jarred Vanderbilt’s injury.
D’Lo has been great over the last month and deserves a shot at finding a long-term home. The Nets would be the ideal destination given his familiarity with the team and his offensive skills being exactly what Brooklyn needs ina. year to make a playoff push while owing their draft pick to someone else.
