Lakers have great trade target on Hawks not named Dejounte Murray

The Los Angeles Lakers are on the road to take on the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday night and have the unique opportunity to see a trade target up close and personal. Los Angeles has been tied to Dejounte Murray for weeks as the Lakers seem like the only reasonable team that might trade for Murray at the deadline.

While the Lakers are the most likely team to trade for Murray, a trade no longer seems likely. With pressure from head coach Quin Snyder to keep Murray around, Lakers fans need to pivot and consider other potential trade targets at the deadline.

One of those other potential targets is on the same team as Murray. Murray might be off the table but the Lakers can still get an up-close look at another player on the trade market: Bogdan Bogdanovic.

Lakers should pursue a Bogdan Bogdanovic trade with the Hawks

Even though Murray might stay in Atlanta, all signs are pointing to the Hawks being sellers at the deadline. There are plenty of pieces that Atlanta can move as the team looks to reset around Trae Young both in the roster and on the books.

Bogdanovic undoubtedly has value on the trade market and is already reportedly being pursued by the Minnesota Timberwolves. Atlanta is not going to rush to get his contract off the books like the team might with Clint Capela or De'Andre Hunter, but they definitely should be listening to all trade offers.

The Lakers would be getting a great scoring guard to act to the backcourt that can start or come off the bench. While Bogdanovic is not a great defender, he is a better defender than Austin Reaves and that could be very important in key spots in a playoff series.

Adding Bogdanovic would be even more impactful if the Lakers were to trade D'Angelo Russell in a separate deal. In theory, Bogdanovic could replace most of D'Lo's scoring while being a better defensive presence on the other end.

For all intents and purposes, Bogdanovic could essentially be a discount Zach LaVine in Los Angeles (coming at a discounted price as well). We all know that the Lakers need another scoring guard to play next to LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Bogdanovic would provide that.

The real question is what the Lakers should send for Bogdanovic. Los Angeles could probably get the deal done for a younger player plus a second-round pick or two. Rui Hachimura and 1-2 second-round picks should be enough. Lakers fans don't want to trade Hachimura but Darvin Ham hardly plays him as is.

Gabe Vincent is probably off the table and Atlanta would want to reroute D'Angelo Russell to a third team. Perhaps the Lakers could package Taurean Prince and Jalen Hood-Schifino with several minimum contracts to make the money work, but that might not be enough for the Hawks.

Regardless, a Bogdanovic trade certainly is possible and might be the best move the Lakers can make.