3 Dream Lakers Trade Targets at the Deadline
By Jovan Alford
The Los Angeles Lakers are currently on the outside looking in when it comes to the Western Conference Playoffs. If the NBA playoffs started today, the Lakers would have the ninth seed (25-25) and play in the tournament against the No. 10 seed Utah Jazz.
However, we know that the Lakers do not strive to be participating in the play-in tournament and would rather have a top-six seed in the West. But for Los Angeles to move up in the standings, they must make a couple of impactful moves at the NBA trade deadline.
Los Angeles is reportedly one of the more active teams ahead of the trade deadline as they look at different ways to upgrade their roster.
Below, we’ll discuss a few dream trade targets for LA that they would love to have. If they could acquire one or two of these guys, it would help them in their pursuit of returning to the Western Conference Finals.
1. Dejounte Murray
The veteran combo guard has frequently been linked to the Lakers, but it seems unlikely that he will be playing in Los Angeles for a couple of reasons.
The first reason is that the Hawks want a lot in return for Dejounte Murray, which I don’t blame them as he has a team-friendly contract and is playing great basketball. The last reason is that the Hawks don’t seem interested in taking back D’Angelo Russell, which is probably the best asset they could send in a trade for Murray.
If we could turn off the NBA2K trade sliders and send Murray to LA, it would be a perfect fit. Murray would give the Lakers a combo guard who can get others involved, play defense, and play off the ball effectively.
The 27-year-old Murray is averaging 21.5 points, 5.2 assists, and 5.0 rebounds per game this season. He’s also shooting an efficient 47.2% from the field and 38.3% from beyond the arc.
The Lakers thought their point guard position was solidified with Russell and Gabe Vincent this season. However, Russell has been inconsistent, and Vincent has been dealing with an injury.
Murray would give the Lakers another bonafide scorer who can lift some of the scoring pressure and ball-handling responsibilities off LeBron.