Why Dejounte Murray is GREAT fit with LeBron James & Lakers, Alex Caruso back to LA? | Hoops Tonight

Why Dejounte Murray is GREAT fit with LeBron James & Lakers, Alex Caruso back to LA? | Hoops Tonight

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So you guys don’t miss any of our content over the course of this season all right let’s talk some basketball let’s talk about this deadline for a minute here because we’ve seen D’Angelo Russell’s role change he’s only taking 10 shots a game over his last n shooting

40% from the field below 30% from three uh he’s weirdly important now because of Gabe Vincent’s injury as essentially the backup point guard um although Austin’s kind of in that spot too which is which again leads you to wonder why the hell the rotation is constructed the way it

Is I saw a star trade get suggested today that was the first one that I’ve actually liked for the Lakers I have not liked any mention of demard D rozan or uh or Zack LaVine or any of these other names that have been thrown out there but sham Shania

Reported today that we should keep keep an eye out for dejonte Murray to be on the Lakers radar now I I I want you actually to go first here do you do you actually view that as realistic because I’m wondering why in the heck the Hawks would want one first

And and ruy haimura and DLo as as as a package there do you view it as realistic and two if so do you think it’s a direction that would help alleviate some of the Lakers issues right now I I view it as realistic in so far as I think the Atlanta

Situation clearly isn’t working and they likely have to split that up uh I feel like deante is more of the Fall Guy in this scenario uh and I think the Lakers would have interest in him and and do have interest in him and uh there’s also the clutch connection so you can’t uh

You know uh I guess you know Overlook that but to your point like the Lakers just don’t have a lot to give up and I I think when front offices admit a mistake we were talking about it with coaches but with front offices to admit a

Mistake I mean when did they trade for him uh but I don’t even remember how it’s two or three years couple years ago so it hasn’t been that long um and you know for for them to admit a mistake and and given all that they gave up to get him

To get a just one first round pick back and and you’re not going to get Austin Reeves so I think Austin would you have to be like a Bonafide highlevel Allstar for the Lakers to include Austin Reeves in a deal so if you’re looking at something like DLo ruy uh one of the

Younger guys you know be it Max or Jaylen and throw in a pick Lakers have upwards of uh four pick swaps they could throw in so maybe you throw in a pick swap or two just to appease Atlanta and get this done like is you know is there

A better package out there and I think there probably is for dejon Murray I look at a team like Philly uh and what you know they could potentially offer uh and Philly and and the Lakers are kind of in in the same boat in looking for

The same types of players be it and Alex Caruso or or whatnot or you know more 3 andd wings so like a team like Philly can come in and probably offer a better package uh and a more aggressive package as we know darl Mor likes to do so I do

Look at it would probably have to be a situation where just the Market is dry for deante and uh you know he wants to be in LA and you got the clutch situation and the Lakers and Hawks you know figure out and again probably some pick swaps in there just to appease them

But that’s where I I I just the actual package itself I kind of struggle with I don’t know if you expand it to a three- team deal feels like a lot of these potential trades for the Lakers probably have to be a three- team deal where DLo

Gets uh rerouted to a third team uh that’s you know kind of an OKC Utah situation where they’re just trying to absorb a contract and uh you know get another asset out of it maybe that’s where one of the younger guys goes as well uh but I I that’s where I I I

Hesitate to to say it’s realistic in terms of like actually looking at the package but I think the Lakers de jonte checks the box of you could imagine him in that starting lineup uh with his size and athleticism defensively and and just what he’s capable of I think he could

Fit the type of defensive guard the Lakers could use uh and then again the clutch situation I think kind of speaks for itself so I think there’s some smoke there for sure I just I struggle seeing Atlanta pulling the trigger and that ultimately being the best available package for

Him yeah it’s it’s funny because I I’m super skeptical as well as to the realistic nature of this type of deal but it again I as I said earlier it’s the first one I really like and the main reason why is because it’s a star a star

But a star that kind of comp Ms the specific issues that the Lakers are having we talked about the pros and cons of switching versus dropping earlier and I am a big big believer that ideally if you have the Personnel for it I’d prefer

To drop and the main reason why is to me Anthony Davis at The Rim is the is the best version of this Laker defense and throughout the history of this team the best versions of them have basically been teams that allow Anthony Davis to defend and pick and roll

And then the Lakers will switch at the end of games they’ll switch Anthony Davis in pick and roll onto the opposing star to get a couple of key stops at the end that to me is is the is the direction this team uh should should go in order to reach their own personal

Ceiling but in order to do so they need a legitimate point of attack guard that can navigate over the top of screens and apply back pressure I view dejonte Murray as that type of guy I think he’s I think for starters he came up with a defensive pedigree and and when uh uh

Two the dude was a huge LeBron fan early on and would probably be willing to take on a role like that in hopes of potentially achieving a a longer Championship run with LeBron James and Anthony Davis I think he compliments Austin Reeves really well in the back

Court dejonte was a really bad off ball player last year having a much much better off ball season this year fueled in large part by just him shooting the ball better in catch and shoot situations and being more aggressive in catch and shoot situ this was a guy who

Looked to drive close outs a lot in the past now he’s taking a lot of those jumpers when he gets them so I think it’s like a it would be an absolute slam dunk as far as star trades go that said I still come back to the same three

Things ideally you want an upgrade at the three an upgrade at the two and an upgrade at the uh Center position and so I I still think the most realistic and best case scenario for the Lakers is some sort of deal with Chicago where they get Caruso and someone like Andre

Drummond and maybe that that’s the deal that probably requires draft compensation and then I’d look at a team like Brooklyn and that’s the team I’d be calling with ruie because the other important part of this too is R what does ruy do for Atlanta they have the same player basically in in DeAndre

Hunter DeAndre Hunter is is very very similar to Ru hamura pullup mid-range jump shooter guy kind of an on an island scorer seems to kind of struggle in the flow of offense and so I again to your point they’d need a third team to even facilitate a deal like that but Brooklyn

Has like three big lanky wings that are kind of like more like twos and threes and then Ben Simmons is there for and he’s been injured basically right so they don’t have a big strong forward they don’t have like an actual ruy hamura archetype but they have a guy

Like Dorian finny Smith to go alongside C Johnson to go alongside male Bridges I’d be I’d be looking to potentially make a swap like that where you’re getting a guy like Dorian finy Smith which is basically tan Prince with better perimeter defense and that ends up being an upgrade at that position if

They did something like that now we’re talking about a lineup that could throw out Austin at the one Alex cruso at the two a guy like Dorian finy Smith at the three LeBron and AD all of those position uh positions make perfect sense it cleans up some of the rotation stuff

And then you’d have a playoff play Center in someone like Andre Drummond coming off of the bench which I think we’ve seen a lot from Christian Wood and Jackson Hayes has left a lot to be desired in recent weeks so I still lean like instead of targeting that bigger

Type of of Target little trades for upgrades at starting caliber positions you have two starting caliber players in D’Angelo Russell and ruy hachimura that don’t start for you because you already have guys in their positions you have to find a way to turn them into starters that slot into those positions do you

Agree with me or do you think that they should go big fish hunting I agree with you I I think it depends on the big fish uh I think de jonte Murray is as you were implying going in the right direction in comparison with a Zach

LaVine or even a Demar D rozan I think I I would prefer D rozan over LaVine if I’m the Lakers and I I I know they feel the same way uh but even there that you know with his lack of three-point shooting and his defense is passable you know depending on who

He’s guarding but like I I still think there there’s a bit of a fit issue there both starting and closing games uh whereas with the jante I think he would slot in properly you could close games with him and Austin you could start games with him and Austin though I don’t

Know if they would go in that direction uh but I I think it just makes more sense uh but I’m with you and I know that this is something that they’ve been weighing and really it’s been one of the big questions for the Lakers as an organization over the last few years has

Been in do we chase the third star or do we go uh for the role player upgrades and I I think we we saw at the Russell Westbrook situation that they chased the third star did not work now granted outside of Ben Simmons that might have

Been the worst third star to pair with LeBron and AD in terms of fit uh it probably was the worst uh but you know so I don’t know if that’s like the best example of what a third star could look like next to LeBron and ID like I I

Think when they were going after Damen Lillard briefly like that would have been a perfect fit in my opinion um you know you could have ad covering for him defensively and with his shooting and and picking roll ability alleviating a lot of that burden off of LeBron and of

Course you know he’s been a top 10 12 player over the last few years so I mean that that’s the high level upgrade of course but um like I think there’s degrees here where just just blankly you know saying that a third star won’t work

Or won’t fit I think is a mistake but they don’t really have the assets to get the type of third star that would fit perfectly next to LeBron and AD in my opinion um it would really have to be a terrible contract or uh you know a

Situation where you know they they can get a third team involved and maybe that can help facilitate it but I just don’t see it the Lakers being straight up you being able to find that type of third star that really takes them to the level

Of a Denver or a Boston so to me it is a smaller upgrade I’m with you I I think 3 Wing has been the biggest issue for this team really since the championship uh you know they haven’t been able to replace I mean they still had kcp and

And CZ that second year but injuries and whatnot but like they haven’t been able to replace that uh you know since the Russ trade with you know kcp kzz Danny Green even Alex Caruso is more of a three andd guard like they just haven’t had those types of guys consistently uh

So you know it’s always been one flawed like Jared Vanderbilt really good perimeter Defender but can’t shoot and teams just play him off the floor in the playoffs so I think finding at least one of those guys if not a couple if possible like uh you know maybe you

Can’t get Caruso and you go for Royce O’Neal and Dorian finy Smith and uh you know Royce O’Neal obviously isn’t the caliber of player that Alex cruso is but to me it would still be an overall upgrade to the rotation if you could bring both of those guys in those are

Two guys the Lakers have had interest in uh dating back to last offseason and and even last trade deadline so I know that those are two guys that they would have interest in in bringing in so I think you we’re on the same page here in terms

Of if if you can find the perfect third star somehow and and make that work and and make a miracle uh you know pull it off like sure go for that but realistically I I think it’s going to have to be a marginal upgrade in terms of the starting and closing lineup but

That’s still very important for this group is obviously they have yet to figure out what’s our best fiveman lineup and we’re over 30 games into the season He

Jason Timpf is joined by Lakers beat writer Jovan Buha of The Athletic to discuss the possible trade targets the Los Angeles Lakers can make to help LeBron James and Anthony Davis get over the hump in the western conference. Jovan points to Dejounte Murray or Alex Caruso as the two names that would help the Lakers the most.

Timeline:
00:00 – Dejounte Murray to Lakers?
06:39 – Best trade scenarios for Lakers?

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