Tag: Dejounte Murray

Dejounte Murray got hurt during his Pelicans debut and it was an awful start to the Dyson Daniels trade

This is NOT ideal for Dejounte Murray and the Pelicans.

The Pelicans made a push this offseason, trading the promising Dyson Daniels to the Hawks for 2022 NBA All-Star guard Dejounte Murray.

While it seemed like a trade that could help New Orleans contend this season, the deal is already off to an incredibly bad start for the franchise. Unfortunately for the Pelicans, during his first regular-season game with the team, Murray was injured.

The guard suffered a fractured left hand during Opening Night against the Bulls. It is a difficult pill to swallow for the organization, who are now sadly without their starting point guard for an extended period of time.

According to Jeff Stotts, the expected recovery time is approximately between 15 and 17 and games.

So expect New Orleans to not have Murray for the first one-fifth of the season.

The good news is that CJ MCollum can play some point guard for the Pelicans if they wish.

Although he has a right knee contusion, backup point guard Jose Alvarado is also able to serviceably fill in for Murray as well.

But on the other hand, the player the Pelicans traded to acquire Murray looked outstanding during his first game with the Hawks.

Daniels was absolutely astonishing on both ends of the floor for Atlanta, beginning his tenure with the team by recording 15 points with 5 rebounds as well as 5 steals and 1 block. He added 2 assists as well.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5 category=1373]

A big potential Lakers trade target is now off the board

One star guard who has been linked to the Lakers as a possible trade target is no longer a target for them.

With the 2024 NBA Draft now in the books, the Los Angeles Lakers can turn their attention toward free agency and potential trades, as well as filling out new head coach JJ Redick’s staff.

They have been linked to a number of players on the trade market, particularly star and borderline star guards. Donovan Mitchell, Trae Young, Darius Garland and Collin Sexton are some of the big rumored targets they could go after in the days and weeks to come.

But another one of those targets is now off the board. On Friday, the Atlanta Hawks traded Dejounte Murray, another potential Los Angeles target, to the New Orleans Pelicans for Larry Nance Jr., Dyson Daniels and two first-round draft picks.

Murray may not have been the ideal backcourt upgrade for L.A., but he is a speedy combo guard who can score and facilitate, and he has been a stellar defender in the recent past.

If the Pelicans find a way to keep stud forward Brandon Ingram, they could end up becoming a rising team in the Western Conference next season. Meanwhile, the Lakers’ trade options have become more limited.

Dejounte Murray trade: Who won the deal between the Hawks and Pelicans

The Hawks are doing stuff!

All eyes have been on the Atlanta Hawks for months now as the team floundered about during the regular season. Dejounte Murray and Trae Young have been the epicenter of trade rumors in the NBA.

Now, one of them is finally on the move. The Hawks have reportedly traded Murray to the New Orleans Pelicans, according to the latest from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

This shouldn’t come as a surprise. The Hawks were bound to make a move this season after so many consecutive disappointing seasons. Trae Young’s trade value currently seems shot. Naturally, Murray was the move.

Let’s dive into the details and grade the trade.

The Details

Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

The Hawks get: A 2025 first-round pick via the Los Angeles Lakers, the least favorable of a 2027 first-round pick from either the Bucks or Pelicans, Dyson Daniels and Larry Nance Jr.

The Pelicans get: Dejounte Murray

The Pelicans grade

Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

Though CJ McCollum has been solid as the Pelicans’ lead ball handler, New Orleans has struggled to find a suitable backcourt partner who covers his defensive weaknesses and allows him to lock in on his role as a scorer.

Theoretically, Murray serves that purpose. He’s an elite defender at his best and can pick up the opponent’s toughest guard assignment. He hasn’t been as good a defender as he once was, but this is a bet from the Pelicans that he’ll improve again with a diminished offensive role. He’ll also be a solid pick and roll partner for Zion Williamson.

He’s not an elite shooter and won’t solve the Pelicans’ problem with their shooting volume — they shoot the ball well but are one of the lowest-volume shooting teams in the NBA. But he brings them a bit of north-south shot creation and should be able to get to the rim easily. If New Orleans keeps Brandon Ingram around, that offense could be scary.

GRADE: B

The Hawks grade

Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

For years, Atlanta has been treading water for the last few years as a play-in team. That’s dissatisfying for a team that was in the Eastern Conference Finals just a few years ago.

Atlanta seems to be ready to head in a different direction, finally. It’s still unclear what that direction is, but the Murray trade is at least motion.

The Pelicans get an unprotected pick in a strong draft in 2025. This Lakers pick could legitimately be a good one — LA was barely a play-in team last season and now the Lakers will have a first-year head coach in JJ Redick.

READ MORE: The JJ Redick isn’t likely to be a good hire early on for LA

They also get another first-round pick in 2027 that could potentially be a lottery pick between the Bucks and the Pelicans. Plus, Dyson Daniels is a solid prospect and Larry Nance Jr. is a nice defensive presence for Atlanta in the frontcourt.

That’s not quite recouping what the Hawks lost from the Murray trade in the first place, but it’s certainly a start. And just because you make a previous mistake doesn’t mean you need to wallow in it.

The Hawks might not be done shifting things around — Young could still potentially be moved. We’ll see. In the meantime, though, this is a smart deal for Atlanta.

GRADE: A

Sources: Lakers are unwilling to trade Austin Reaves

Are the Lakers overvaluing guard Austin Reaves?

The 2024 NBA Draft is now underway, and the question surrounding the Los Angeles Lakers is whether they will make some sort of significant move, whether it comes today or within a few more days.

Plenty of star and near-star players have been linked to the Lakers, and one of them is Dejounte Murray. They made a real effort to land Murray via trade prior to February’s trade deadline, but talks with the Atlanta Hawks eventually died out.

It is believed one reason those talks were fruitless was because of L.A.’s unwillingness to include guard Austin Reaves in a potential deal. Reportedly, nothing has changed in that regard.

Via The Athletic:

“Murray, meanwhile, was a player that the Lakers could have had at the February trade deadline if they’d been willing to put Reaves into the deal,” wrote Sam Amick. “He’s a possibility now, as well, but league sources say the Lakers’ stance on Reaves remains the same.”

Murray could be the backcourt upgrade the Lakers need without costing them an arm and a leg. He had a terrific 2023-24 season, averaging a career-high 22.5 points, as well as 5.3 rebounds and 6.4 assists a game. He also improved his outside shooting and made 36.3% of his attempts from 3-point range this year.

The 27-year-old was an All-Star during the 2021-22 season. While Reaves is certainly a good player, he likely won’t ever make an All-Star team, and the Lakers shouldn’t overvalue him on the trade market.

Shams: Lakers could revisit Dejounte Murray trade talks

Is Dejounte Murray the backcourt upgrade the Lakers need in order to become contenders?

Now that the Los Angeles Lakers have finally hired JJ Redick to be their head coach, they can soon move on to the business of upgrading their roster.

Their current roster was good enough to win them 47 games and 23 of their last 33 this season. But it isn’t a championship-caliber one, and as long as LeBron James sticks around, it will be “championship or bust” for the Purple and Gold.

The team did make a run at Atlanta Hawks guard Dejounte Murray prior to the trade deadline, but those talks hit a roadblock. NBA insider Shams Charania believes they will once again have talks about acquiring the former All-Star (h/t Lakers Daily).

Murray is coming off arguably his best statistical season ever. He averaged a career-high 22.5 points a game while improving his 3-point accuracy to 36.3%. He played very well late in the year when Trae Young was out with an injury and almost single-handedly kept Atlanta afloat, allowing it to reach the play-in tournament.

He has the type of speed, quickness and defensive ability the Lakers both need and want in a lead guard. In addition, he has the ability to facilitate and hit the open man, which would allow them to preserve LeBron James.

Reportedly, some of Redick’s goals are to reduce James’ ballhandling duties, utilize him off the ball more and keep him fresh for the playoffs.

Murray will make $25.5 million next season, which would make him a less expensive target than Young or Donovan Mitchell, two other stars L.A. has been rumored to have interest in.

Could the Nets still go after Hawks’ Dejounte Murray this summer?

Free-agency aside, could the Brooklyn Nets still be interested in trading for Atlanta Hawks guard Dejounte Murray? Nets Wire breaks it down.

The Brooklyn Nets are coming off a 2023-24 season in which they finished with a disappointing 32-50 record despite an pleasantly-surprising 13-10 start to the campaign amidst tough circumstances. While it’s still left to be seen if Brooklyn will be keeping things status quo, there is one player that they could go after if they want to shake things up.

One of the main players that the Nets have been linked to since the first half of last season was Atlanta Hawks guard Dejounte Murray. Murray was someone that the Hawks were reportedly putting on the trade block as they sought to shake things up around star point guard Trae Young due to the team’s inability to make it out of the first round since the 2020-21 season.

While Brooklyn is in need of a few pieces to the roster, they have also been weary of giving up more than they should for trades given the delicate state of their franchise right now. For example, the Nets were one of the main teams pursuing Murray when Atlanta made him available this season, but with reports that the Hawks wanted two first-round picks for Murray, Brooklyn began to shy away from that price.

Granted, a player of Murray’s stature is probably correctly valued at two first-round picks given what he brings to a team and because of his contract as well. Murray averaged 22.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 6.4 assists, and 1.4 steals per game while shooting 45.9% from the field and 36.3% from three-point land.

Also, Murray’s four-year, $114 million extension will begin next season as he will be getting paid somewhere between $25.4 million and $31.6 million over the next four years. Similar to Nets wing Mikal Bridges, Murray is on a valuable contract for what he brings to the table and Brooklyn may not have to give up too much if they want to bring Murray to the franchise.

Per Dan Favale of Bleacher Report, a potential trade for Murray could look as follows:

Brooklyn Nets Receive: Dejounte Murray

Atlanta Hawks Receive: Dorian Finney-Smith, Dennis Schröder, Phoenix’s 2025 first-round pick (top-eight protection; turns into 2028 and 2029 seconds if not conveyed); 2027 first-round pick (second most favorable from Brooklyn, Houston, Philadelphia or Phoenix)

[lawrence-related id=58991,58988,58985]

Dejounte Murray reacts to Victor Wembanyama breaking his record

Dejounte Murray took to Twitter to react to San Antonio Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama breaking his All-Defense record.

The San Antonio Spurs had a rough 2023-24 season, but Victor Wembanyama made it all okay. His stellar play has given the city of San Antonio plenty of hope for a brighter tomorrow, as the 20-year-old Frenchman already looks like one of the better players in the NBA.

Wembanyama concluded his season with a second-place finish in Defensive Player of the Year voting and the first-ever unanimous Rookie of the Year victory. He also earned a spot on the All-Defensive First Team. He became the first rookie to ever make the First Team and the youngest player to ever make an All-Defensive Team.

The previous youngest player was Dejounte Murray, who accomplished the feat with the Spurs in 2018. After Wembanyama broke his record, Murray showed him some love on Twitter, tweeting out some fire emojis. (H/t Ben Stinar of Sports Illustrated)

https://x.com/DejounteMurray/status/1792982902797660661

Normally, this type of thing would fly under the radar, but there have been some rumblings of a potential Murray return to San Antonio. So perhaps Murray was inadvertently praising his former teammate.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Spurs listed among potential ‘best landing spots’ for Dejounte Murray

Could the San Antonio Spurs make a move for Dejounte Murray this summer?

The San Antonio Spurs should be scouring the market for ways to improve their roster around Victor Wembanyama this summer. In a recent article for Bleacher Report, Greg Swartz listed the Spurs among teams that would be a “best landing spot” for a Dejounte Murray trade. Adding his ball-handling and defense would seriously improve the Spurs’ ceiling, and he’d make a return to San Antonio.

“Teams that need a high-level starting point guard should be relentlessly calling Atlanta this summer,” Swartz wrote. “The 27-year-old Murray is beginning a team-friendly four-year, $114 million extension and is still an elite defender who would thrive if he returns to an on-ball role.

“The Hawks should be open to trading Murray to add better-fitting pieces around Young. A return to the Spurs would make a lot of sense for Murray, and teams like the Los Angeles Lakers and Orlando Magic could be searching for a backcourt upgrade this summer.”

A lineup of Murray, Devin Vassell, Jeremy Sochan, Victor Wembanyama, and another forward the Spurs add this summer would look pretty solid.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

For the Lakers to win the NBA championship, they need to realize that speed kills

The Lakers should lean into their “Showtime” identity and ability to get out in transition in order to win the NBA championship.

In an oft-played commercial for the Dodge Hornet that is currently making its rounds on television, a man meets his inner child, who tells him that what he really needs in life is some “freakin’ torque.” His inner child then floors it while both are in the Hornet and declares that “horsepower keeps you going, but torque gets you going.”

The Los Angeles Lakers, as presently constituted, could use a visit and a locker-room pep talk from that inner child. With LeBron James, Anthony Davis, D’Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves, they have horsepower. What they need more of is some freakin’ torque. It came and went this season, preventing them from reaching their true potential.

For much of this season, some said the Lakers weren’t winning games with regularity because they didn’t have an identity. The reality is that they had an identity; they just didn’t do a good job of sticking to it.

When the Lakers won and played well this season, it was because they played with pace and got out in transition on a consistent basis. In fact, it is how they have won games since LeBron James arrived six years ago, especially when they won the NBA championship in the 2019-20 season.

If they’re going to win it all again, they need to lean into that identity and strength of theirs — and it will require some roster tweaks. While they have horsepower, they don’t have the consistent spark that allows them to go from 0 to 60 in under five seconds.

Russell — when he’s throwing in darts from the outside and has the ball in his hands — is a very good player. He can not only supply his team with scoring but also with facilitating while committing minimal turnovers. But he has as much speed as a Toyota Camry.

The same goes for Reaves, who is more of a complementary scorer and ball-handler than a speed demon in the open court.

At age 39, James picks his spots when it comes to when to floor it in the open floor and when to conserve his energy and settle for the halfcourt game. He played full-time point guard when L.A. won the world title in 2020, but at this point in his career, he can’t and shouldn’t do that.

He needs a true ball-handling and facilitating guard alongside him who can consistently force the pace. That would allow him to play off the ball more often, a tactic that worked this season — that is when the team actually went to it.

This is one big reason the Lakers were in talks with the Atlanta Hawks to acquire former All-Star guard Dejounte Murray a few months ago. Perhaps they should revisit those talks this offseason.

Murray may not be the most reliable 3-point shooter and some believe his reputation as a dogged defender is just that — a reputation. But he is a speedy guard who can accelerate in transition, and he seems to have a working set of brake pads as well: He doesn’t turn the ball over much.

Running is a Lakers tradition, dating all the way back to their memorable 1972 championship team, and, of course, their dynastic “Showtime” teams of the 1980s. They moved away from that tradition during the Phil Jackson regime in the 2000s, but to be fair, the entire NBA moved away from playing up-tempo basketball in the 1990s and 2000s.

These days, the NBA is all about playing fast. You can’t win a world championship playing purely halfcourt basketball, and even a team like the New York Knicks, who win by slowing play down and pounding opponents defensively and on the boards, can run when needed.

The Knicks, who just won their third playoff series since 2000, were dead-last in pace during the regular season. However, they’re second in fast-break points per game so far in the playoffs.

The Lakers need to take a cue from the rest of the modern NBA and add some freakin’ torque to their attack. It could very well be the biggest thing they lack in their efforts to earn banner No. 18.

Mock trade sees Spurs land Dejounte Murray for 2-player package

In this mock trade, Dejounte Murray would be sent back to the San Antonio Spurs.

The San Antonio Spurs will be looking to help Victor Wembanyama. That means adding talent. They were connected to the Atlanta Hawks throughout the regular season regarding potential trade rumors, and a Dejounte Murray return could make sense for both sides involved. Greg Swartz of Bleacher Report recently wrote a mock deal that would send Murray back to San Antonio for Keldon Johnson, Devonte’ Graham, and two first-round picks (that previously belonged to Atlanta).

“Some teams can slowly build a winner around their star rookie, adding top draft picks over time before going all-in to chase a championship,” Swartz wrote. “However, Victor Wembanyama is good enough for the San Antonio Spurs to start making win-now moves immediately. With a 75-year-old head coach in Gregg Popovich, patience isn’t an option. Murray developed into an All-Star point guard with the Spurs, spending his first six seasons in San Antonio before being traded to the Hawks in 2022. That experiment has all but failed.

“A reunion with Popovich on a Spurs team that needs an upgrade at point guard makes too much sense not to happen.”

Having a guy like Murray running the show and helping set up Wembanyama on offense would be great for the Spurs.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]