The NBA trade deadline is right around the corner and the trade rumors are starting to grow. The Los Angeles Lakers are one of the most talked-about teams in the rumor mill after a disappointing first half in which they do not look like a title-contending team.
When it comes to Lakers trade ideas, the player that has been floated around the most is none other than D'Angelo Russell. A Russell trade has felt obvious dating back to the summer when he re-signed and for many, it has only been a matter of time.
The biggest target that the Lakers have been tied to is Dejounte Murray. However, the Atlanta Hawks reportedly do not want to take Russell back in the deal, forcing the Lakers to try and find a third team that would take Russell's services in return for some draft capital.
Russell has been playing his best ball of the season over the last two weeks, which is coming at the perfect time. For some, this indicates that the Lakers cannot afford to trade him. In reality, this is increasing his value at the perfect time, and might make a deal more likely.
The Wizards make sense as a third team for a D'Angelo Russell-Lakers trade
Perhaps the folks in the Washington front office are seeing how Russell is playing and might be intrigued to bring him in. D'Lo is by no means a long-term play for the Wizards, but if he plays that well in Washington the team could try to flip him in the offseason (assuming he accepts his player option) or at the deadline next year.
Regardless, it definitely is not hard for the Wizards to talk themselves into adding Russell for draft capital and they also have some intriguing players to send to the Hawks. This creates quite the three-team trade that can make everyone involved happy.
Let's break down the trade and hand out some grades, shall we?
How the Lakers can trade D'Angelo Russell to the Washington Wizards:
What makes the Wizards such a great fit is A) the team is not in contention so it will have no problem taking on salaries for draft capital and B) there are several players on Washington's roster that actually make sense for the Hawks.
If the Hawks really wanted to take a swing they could try their luck at someone like Kyle Kuzma or Jordan Poole but that would probably go worse than the current iteration with Murray. Instead, the Hawks could pick up some solid role players and free up some salary-cap space with the following trade:
There is a lot to digest in this trade, so let's break it down team by team. The Los Angeles Lakers would be trading D'Angelo Russell, Jalen Hood-Schifino, an unprotected first, a pick swap, and two second-round picks to get back Dejounte Murray and Johnny Davis. That is a fair price for someone of Murray's caliber.
Davis is just a throw-in to the trade and the Lakers have to be the team that takes on his multi-year salary. That is part of the cost of getting Murray as the Hawks are not going to want to have to pay Davis, who has done next to nothing in Washington.
Washington has to trade Davis to make the money work as the team is taking on just under $38 million in salary in this trade. For their troubles, they are getting a Lakers pick swap in 2028 that could end up being very valuable with how old the current roster is. In the future, Washington could try and flip D'Lo or Capela for more assets.
Atlanta gets some pieces that can potentially make the team more competitive while also maintaining future flexibility. Jones is on an expiring and Gafford has a very moveable contract if the team needs to get off his $12.4 million salary to open future cap space.
Now that the landscape of the trade has been broken down, let's dive into some grades for each team involved.
Los Angeles Lakers grade: A
Even though there are potential concerns about Murray and how he may fit next to LeBron James, any trade that can bring a player of his caliber back to LA for this price is going to be a good one for the purple and gold.
At his best, Murray is a two-way force that is exactly what this Lakers team needs in the backcourt. Best of all, he is under contract for another four seasons and is at a reasonable price, which allows the Lakers to bring in another star alongside him and Anthony Davis once LeBron calls it quits.
Murray makes the team better this season and makes them better in the long run. Sure, his play on the Hawks is concerning, but there is a good reason to believe that he will turn it around if he is to be traded to the Lakers.
Atlanta Hawks grade: C-
The C- grade for the Hawks is twofold. First, the Hawks probably want to get more picks in return but they also want to get contracts (like Capela's) off the books. It is hard for Atlanta to do both and as a result, they are in a situation where they may only get one unprotected first-round pick.
The problem for Atlanta is this is how the market is for Murray. Could there be another team that offers a second pick? Sure. But that would come with multiple years of salary in return. The Hawks have backed themselves into a corner with this Murray situation and that is their own doing.
This is a passable grade for the Hawks considering the direction of the franchise but that does not mean that the team should feel good about it.
Washington Wizards grade: B+
This is exactly the kind of trade the Wizards should be making. They trade off their expendable assets, take on two years of salaries at most, and get a valuable pick swap and a young first-round pick from the most recent draft.
Also, D'Lo is the perfect guard to put next to Jordan Poole and Kyle Kuzma to keep the tank alive. They can put up decent numbers on paper, sell tickets, and provide entertaining games as there would be no such thing as defense in Washington.
Then, if all goes well, D'Lo can go to Washington and put up inflated averages that leads another team to take a chance on him next year as an expiring contract (if he opts into his deal). Then the Wizards would be able to get even more value out of the trade by flipping Russell.