The Milwaukee Bucks made some major changes at the top when they decided to give rookie coach Adrian Griffin the axe. They replaced him with veteran shot-caller Doc Rivers, who made his coaching debut for his new team on Monday against the Denver Nuggets.
With a new coach in place, it would not be surprising if the Bucks go for broke ahead of the NBA trade deadline. One player who has reportedly been on their radar is Atlanta Hawks guard Dejounte Murray. At this point, however, it appears that they will have some tough competition for the services of the All-Star combo guard.
Los Angeles Lakers Considered Frontrunners in Dejounte Murray Race
Mark Deeks of HoopsHype recently conjured up a list of Murray’s Top 3 landing spots now that he seems to be on his way out of Atlanta. It was the Los Angeles Lakers that emerged atop the said as Murray’s loudest suitor.
Deeks points out that the main stumbling block of a potential blockbuster deal is the Hawks’ unwillingness to take on D’Angelo Russell. The former All-Star is reportedly the centerpiece of LA’s trade package for Murray, but it appears that both teams still have their work cut out for them before a deal is struck.
“The challenge, then, is to either find a third team that will take on Russell instead, or to try and cook something up around Rui (Hachimura) and (Gabe) Vincent, neither of which has Russell’s trade value (and in the case of the latter, is said to have merely the equivalent value of second-round picks). It is not easy to do. The Lakers do however seem the likeliest destination for Murray, given the lengthy commitment to talks,” Deeks wrote.
Either way, it does seem that it’s the Lakers who have the inside track here.
Milwaukee Bucks Still in the Running
The Detroit Pistons have also been listed as a potential landing spot for Murray. However, Bucks fans are hoping that their team is able to somehow hijack this deal.
The big concern here is that Milwaukee is short on tradeable assets. Deeks suggests that the Bucks will need to give up a handful of players as well as future draft picks in order to lure Murray to Wisconsin:
“If Murray can be acquired, he should help with that. But realistically, any Milwaukee Bucks trade for Dejounte Murray has to start with Bobby Portis. His $11,710,818 contract is the right sort of size (meeting salary-matching rules when paired with that of Pat Connaughton), he is an established player for the Hawks to utilise, and although he is an important scorer for the Bucks and popular player, they will need to deal from a position of excess (offense) to shore up the area of weakness (defense).
“If the Bucks can pair those two contracts with, perhaps, MarJon Beauchamp, Andre Jackson Jr, and the 2024 second-round pick of the Portland Trail Blazers, perhaps they can make an ambitious pitch,” Deeks wrote.
It does sound like a bit of a stretch, but at least the Bucks are still in the running.
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