Report: Lakers show interest in Dejounte Murray, 3 Nets
The Lakers still view Dejounte Murray as their top target but are also eyeing Dorian Finney-Smith, Spencer Dinwiddie, Royce O’Neale of the Brooklyn Nets.
With the Lakers still struggling to rack up wins and the Feb. 8 trade deadline fast approaching, the Lakers are in the middle of all NBA trade rumors.
While they have yet to make a trade, a poor display against the Atlanta Hawks reminded fans that this team has been mediocre all season. It led to a brutally honest assessment from LeBron James during his postgame presser and cryptic tweets by Christian Wood before the game even began.
Shams Charania of The Athletic gave an update on Fan Duel’s show “Run It Back” on the Lakers still viewing Dejounte Murray as their top target but keeping an eye on Brooklyn Nets players Dorian Finney-Smith, Spencer Dinwiddie and Royce O’Neale.
"Dejounte Murray is going to continue to emerge as the top target for the Lakers, from what I'm told...Another scenario to keep an eye on, players that the Lakers do have interest in I'm told, is three guys from the Nets: Dorian Finney-Smith, Spencer Dinwiddie, Royce O'Neale."… pic.twitter.com/fSlRUxzzpq
— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) January 31, 2024
If Dejounte Murray wants to be a Laker he certainly helped his cause balling out against the purple and gold on Tuesday. He ended the night with 24 points and nine assists while D’Angelo Russell, the Lakers guard most connected in a trade for Murray, struggled, scoring just nine points on 3-11 shooting.
Murray has been the best player linked to the Lakers, but the growing interest in the Nets’ guards is interesting.
The Nets appear to have an abundance of 3-and-D wings and while a move for Finney-Smith, Dinwiddie, or O’Neale doesn’t have the splash an acquisition like Murray’s would cause, it might be the way to improve without mortgaging your future depending on the details of the deal.
From this Nets trio, Dinwiddie is having the best season on paper, averaging 12.9 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 6.1 assists. Finney-Smith has the best 3-Point percentage at 38.3 and O’Neale isn’t far behind at 36.2%.
One thing is clear: the rumors and clamoring from fans for a trade won’t dwindle until a deal is done, we pass the deadline, or the Lakers actually win multiple games in a row.
The Lakers may not be a good team right now, but they are never boring and the drama is one of the reasons they are one of the most popular franchises in sports.
Let’s see if they can make a move that helps the team improve and we can talk more about the play on the court instead of the drama off of it.
You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88.