Blinksportsnews247Tom Thibodeau spoke to media members after Monday’s practice. He touched on Quentin Grimes’ current situation, offering the third-year guard some advice amid the flurry of rumors involving him and the reported interest of New York in moving him before the Feb. 8 deadline.
“This time of the year, I always say for every 100 trades that get talked about, one gets done,” Thibodeau said. “That’s why I think you stick to your routine. You block out all the outside stuff. Know what’s in front of you and keep your focus there like basketball is your focus.”
Coach Thibs is right, but even if this column discusses just one of those 99 trades that will never happen, it makes sense to go over it because it’s a rather interesting scenario… that could actually turn into that highly improbable 1-out-of-100 trade that ends up happening.
Just yesterday, Monday, Jan. 22, Marc Stein dropped another entry in his newsletter and discussed the interest of the Los Angeles Lakers in Atlanta’s two-guard Dejounte Murray.
Murray is worth $18.2 million for the 2024 season, whereas D’Lo is making $17.3 million this season. Therefore, trading D’Lo for Murray is a straight one-for-one trade. That’s fantastic because it makes it easier for both teams to trade players by including draft compensation—like the 2029 first-round pick Stein highlighted.
The Lakers appear willing to include “a pick swap” in the deal in addition to the previously mentioned, according to a small piece of information that Shams Charania supplied to that report.
Those hypothetical situations have an issue. Guard D’Angelo Russell would probably be a part of any structure for a Murray deal to the Lakers, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. That would only apply if Russell was traded to a different Atlanta team during that process. The Hawks don’t think Russell’s $18.7 million player option for the next season and his style of play next to Trae Young are a good fit.
Oh no, a deal-breaking obstacle!
Read that scoop once again now. “…contingent on Russell being flipped to a third team from Atlanta,” just in case. Please give me your attention.
What if, as has been widely reported, New York has rejected every mega-superstar deal before the summer and is instead concentrating on adding players to strengthen the bench and bolstering the rotation? What if the Knicks have somehow found themselves in a fortunate situation where they can sign a seasoned playmaker who happens to be from Los Angeles? What might happen, might happen?
The three primary (read: high-paid) players in the deal make for ideal contract fits for their new teams, and Evan Fournier’s move from New York to Atlanta makes it all work, thus the framework of a three-team (LAL-ATL-NYK) transaction works as-is.
You can look into more intricate swaps that would work over Fanspo, including ones involving other players, draft selections, and even clubs; however, the FOs of ATL, LAL, and NYK will need to accommodate that.
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