In the 2023–24 NBA season, the Los Angeles Lakers have not performed up to expectations thus far. They had a rough start to the previous season, but a run to the Western Conference Finals was fueled by a number of transactions made during the NBA trade deadline. They would very well require a flurry of more transactions to get back to that point, which was not anticipated.
With LeBron James and Anthony Davis both performing like two of the league’s top 10 players right now, there are very few signs that a club that considers itself a title contender is genuinely in the hunt. For instance, The Lakers are 19th in t
he NBA with a -1.1 net rating and a negative point differential halfway through the season.
They are going to have to make some changes, probably before the NBA trade deadline. In the best-case scenario, the Lakers would be back in the running for the championship at the deadline. What would that look like? It may have a somewhat similar appearance to this.
In exchange for Dejounte Murray, the Lakers
Right now, D’Angelo Russell is playing incredibly well, and he and Reaves form an offensively potent backcourt. Cleaning the Glass indicates that the Lakers’ 119.5 offensive rating with Reaves and Russell together is in the 74th percentile of all lineups. That’s excellent!
The issue is that when those two are on the court together, the Lakers surrender a defensive rating of 124.3, which is in the fifth percentile. That’s unsustainable in addition to being awful. It also explains why the Lakers are said to be the front-runners in a deal for Dejounte Murray of Atlanta.
NBA fans have expressed concern about Dejounte Murray’s defense, but in any case, he would be a better player on that end of the court than both Russell and Reaves.
Murray would be an ideal addition to the Lakers roster given his age (he turned 27 in September), his ability to create shots for himself and teammates, and the improvement in his three-point shooting that he has made this season (he is shooting 38.7% from three on a career-high 6.2 attempts per game).
Currently, D’Angelo Russell’s third team search is a roadblock. Russell has previously been linked to Charlotte and Brooklyn (the Hornets general manager Mitch Kupchak drafted Russell in 2015 while he was with the Lakers).
The Lakers should be able to sign Murray and significantly strengthen their squad if they can iron out those wrinkles.
Rui Hachimura hasn’t performed up to the level he set last season, Jaxson Hayes has been a total bust, Taurean Prince plays too much, and Gabe Vincent hardly plays at all. They should consider adding a second excellent role player to the bench.
The Lakers may give Brooklyn a couple of second-round selections in exchange for Dorian Finney-Smith or Royce O’Neale if a Murray trade involves the Nets. In the middle of a fire sale, the Hornets have some interesting veterans who might be able to assist the Lakers as well.
