JOIN OUR WHATSAPP CHANNEL
NBA Insider Reveals Reason Behind LA Lakers Failed Move to Acquire Dejounte Murray in Hawks Trade
Dejounte Murray made a move to NBA after his time with Atlanta Hawks came to an end and it could have been with the LA Lakers. However, an insider revealed the reason behind failed move.
This offseason, the Los Angeles Lakers failed to make headway with a long list of veteran targets. Dejounte Murray, a shooting guard that the Atlanta Hawks traded to the New Orleans Pelicans, was one of the most well-known.
According to ESPN's Brian Windhorst, there was one significant obstacle that kept the 27-year-old from joining the Lakers.
“The Hawks went down this road last year with the Lakers. There was a time where there was a lot of momentum, at least on the Lakers' side, where they thought they had a great chance to get Dejounte Murray,” Windhorst said.
“At the end of the day, D'Angelo Russell being in that deal, and I don't know if it was they were going to have a third team or whatever, but the Hawks weren't down with that,” he added.
Atlanta considered Murray, who finished the previous season with 22.5 points on 45.9% shooting, 5.3 rebounds, and 6.4 assists per game, demanded a premium return in a trade.
Dyson Daniels, Cody Zeller, Larry Nance, E.J. Liddell, and two first-round selections from New Orleans were the final results. The Pelicans selected Daniels, an Australian shooting guard, eighth overall in the 2022 NBA Draft. Daniels is 21 years old.
Los Angeles didn't have the same amount of draft capital and depth players available as New Orleans, and Russell isn't nearly as good as Murray. Last year, "DLo" averaged 3.1 rebounds, 6.3 rebounds, and 18 points on 45.6% shooting per game.
Although the trade was largely viewed as fair by the league, a panel of 18 NBA coaches, scouts, and executives gave it a few votes as the worst and most unexpected offseason move, according to ESPN.
Latest Articles
