Trey Murphy III is pretty much the prototype trade target on the wing for the Los Angeles Lakers at the moment (or at least should be). Murphy is young, long, athletic, defensive-minded, and a more than capable 3-point shooter (38.2% for his career). Aren't these literally all of the qualities that the Lakers are currently looking for on the wing market? (Yes).
So why did The Ringer's Bill Simmons leave the Lakers out of his latest suggestion on Monday that Murphy is about to get traded within the next three weeks (i.e., before the draft) to either the Oklahoma City Thunder or the Boston Celtics? Well, the easy (and perhaps only) answer is that Simmons is a die-hard Celtics fan.
Then again, Simmons' words were not without considerable value for Lakers fans, as they reminded everyone that Murphy has plenty of powerful suitors, including at least two who might be motivated to move quicker than expected on Murphy.
Lakers should stay aggressive on Trey Murphy III trail, especially if Thunder and Celtics are involved
The Lakers shouldn't allow themselves to be bullied out of the Murphy sweepstakes (and, say, settle for Herb Jones) just because the Thunder and the Celtics are involved. I'm not saying that Boston and OKC are involved (this was just speculation from Simmons), but it makes a ton of sense for them to be, especially in the Thunder's case, given their boatload of assets and sour taste in the mouth after just having watched their repeat title dreams dashed on Sunday night.
Do the Lakers actually have to wait for LeBron James before doing anything?
ESPN's Brian Windhorst has been adamant for weeks that the Lakers are in free-agent and trade-market purgatory with their hands tied until they sort out the LeBron James situation. This is what made LeBron's 'I might wait until August to decide' vibe that he expressed recently so concerning.
If you take Windhorst's warning as objective truth, it would push the Lakers out of the discussion for any trades happening anytime soon, including -- potentially -- for Murphy. This can't be the case, can it? Surely, Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka has already been hard at work on the phones figuring out pathways to acquire Murphy and/or other wings to place beside Luka Doncic next season.
The Lakers should've been on Simmons' list for Murphy if the Celtics were. Does Simmons consider the Lakers a tier below Boston as a contender? Only one of those teams advanced past the first round of the playoffs this spring.
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