Every week, we round up the latest NBA Buzz at FortyEightMinutes.com. This week’s edition includes the latest on the Lakers, the Wizards’ trade demands, and some realness about Joel Embiid’s injury.
Latest on the Lakers
Just as we relayed in last week’s edition of NBA buzz, there’s again more daily news and noise on the Lakers.
- On Monday, the team was blown out by the Rockets and LeBron James indicated that the team’s “care factor” was a problem.
- On Tuesday, Darvin Ham started Jaxson Hayes over Christian Wood in the contest in Atlanta, leading to Wood tweeting “Lol” before the game and then after the game, Wood explained that he “meant to quote something but [he] didn’t have the quote I thought [he] did.”
- The Lakers lost by 16 and in the postgame presser, James channeled his inner Bill Belichick, stating he didn’t have any message for his teammates other than “just go out and do your job.”
- Late on Tuesday night, James would tweet out the hourglass emoji and not be heard from again until Wednesday when he announced his deal with DraftKings to make NFL betting picks.
The days of several Lakers’ lives may come to an end before the trade deadline next week. D’Angelo Russell has garnered the most trade rumors with finding a third team for D-Lo holding up a potential deal for Dejounte Murray.
Interestingly, The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor lists the Lakers’ biggest need as a perimeter shot creator who can defend and writes that giving up Russell and two valuable picks (presumably their 2029 first-round selection and another pick swap) would be a “massive bet” on Murray.
Considering how well Russell has played, is Murray really that much of an upgrade? On offense, Murray has largely been subpar scoring from the perimeter, making 33.6 percent of his 3s over the past four seasons. This season, he’s up to 38.8 percent from 3 while posting career highs from midrange (55 percent). And on defense, can he return to form? As a younger player on the Spurs, Murray was an All-Defensive guard. His effort and intensity have slipped ever since, but the chance to compete for a title and a chip on his shoulder might inspire a return to prime form.
Maybe Murray just needs a change of scenery. Maybe playing alongside Trae Young instead of Derrick White showcases more of Murray’s defensive flaws. Perhaps the guard needs consistent competition around him to bring out his best.
As for what L.A. already has in-house: Yes, Russell has excelled lately. The 27-year-old is showing that he’s capable of putting up big numbers if given the role. However, history has proven that a large offensive role for Russell doesn’t produce winning basketball consistently.
If the Lakers are serious about surrounding James with players who can impact winning come the postseason, they shouldn’t hesitate to move D-Lo. It should just be a matter of who’s the best player they can get back given their limited draft capital.
Wizards-Lakers Buzz
The Athletic reported the Lakers view Malcolm Brogdon, Spencer Dinwiddie, and Tyus Jones as lateral moves or downgrades compared to D-Lo.
The Wizards are seeking a first-rounder in exchange for Jones, per Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, though O’Connor hears that the team’s demands for their point guard exceed that the Lakers would likely be willing to give up.
I’d be intrigued by a package that sends Vincent and multiple seconds for Jones since he’s a reliable facilitator and a knockdown shooter. Currently, Washington’s demands exceed what the Lakers would likely be willing to give up.
For what it’s worth, Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report proposed a rather interesting four-way trade that netted the Lakers both Murray and Jones.
Hawks get:
- Spencer Dinwiddie (via Nets)
- Jalen Hood-Schifino (via Lakers)
- Jaxson Hayes (via Lakers)
- 2029 protected first-round pick (via Lakers)
- Cash considerations ($5,905,000, via Lakers)
- $18,214,000 Trade Exception (Dejounte Murray)
Lakers get:
- Dejounte Murray (via Hawks)
- Tyus Jones (via Wizards)
- Wesley Matthews (via Hawks)
- Mouhamed Gueye (via Hawks)
- $10.5 million trade exception (Gabe Vincent)
Nets get:
- D’Angelo Russell (via Lakers)
- Anthony Gill (via Wizards)
- $20.4 million trade exception (Spencer Dinwiddie)
- $2 million trade exception (Harry Giles III)
Wizards get:
- Gabe Vincent (via Lakers)
- Max Christie (via Lakers)
- Harry Giles III (via Nets)
- 2024 second-rounder (L.A. Clippers, via Lakers)
- 2025 protected second-rounder (via Nets)
- 2025 second-rounder (via Lakers)
- 2027 conditional second-rounder (via Lakers)
- Cash considerations ($1,100,000, via Lakers)
- $14 million trade exception (Tyus Jones)
- $2 million trade exception (Anthony Gill)
Note: The Lakers’ first-round pick protections in 2029 are negotiable, but pencil in top-10 protected through 2030; otherwise, it conveys as a 2030 second-round pick.
The 2025 second-rounder from Brooklyn to Washington is from the Miami Heat (top-37 protected).
The 2027 second-rounder from the Lakers to Washington will only convey if the Lakers’ 2027 first-rounder is in the 5-30 range.
Joel Embiid‘s Injury Situation
It’s unclear how much time Joel Embiid will miss, as the big man is undergoing an MRI after leaving Tuesday’s game against the Warriors. Embiid missed the previous two games because of left knee soreness and according to Sam Amick of The Athletic, some within the Sixers organization believe that Embiid rushed back on Tuesday night because of “all the scrutiny.”
You could see it long before he was hurt against the Warriors. Embiid, who missed Philadelphia’s game at Portland on Monday night, looked like a player who pushed himself to play against Golden State because the whole basketball world was screaming in his ear. There are people within the Sixers who are convinced that he played only because of all the scrutiny.
There was some social media scrutiny on Saturday when Embiid was declared a late scratch vs. the Nuggets, something that was reportedly the team’s decision.
There was scrutiny for multiple reasons, mainly that Embiid would again miss a contest against Nikola Jokic, having not played against the two-time MVP in Denver since 2019. There was also some scrutiny about the timing of Embiid being ruled out.
Yet, that was essentially the extent of the “scrutiny” surrounding Embiid missing his recent games.
The reality of the NBA’s new rules requiring players to play in 65 games to be eligible for award consideration might have played a role.
With Embiid missing the Nuggets game and the Blazers game (on Monday), Embiid now can only miss four more games to be eligible for the 2024 MVP award and it’s looking like the new rule will keep Embiid from capturing consideration for back-to-back NBA MVPs.
