LeBron’s voice looms large when assessing a potential Dejounte Murray-Lakers
deal
(标题太耸动 我改掉了)
https://reurl.cc/E4b9Rv
As of this Tuesday dispatch, this NBA trade deadline season has been, well,
dead.
The OG Anunoby-to-the-Knicks deal was last year, for crying out loud (Dec.
30). The Pascal Siakam-to-the-Pacers trade was almost a month ago at this
point. And since then, we’ve gotten … Steven Adams to the Rockets. And an
injured Steven Adams, no less.
But with two days left before the Thursday deadline (3 p.m. Eastern), and
with the chance remaining that the fireworks might go off here at the end,
there’s at least one high-profile scenario still on the board worth
examining from all sides: Dejounte Murray to the Lakers. And with all due
respect to the involved parties, from the Hawks front office that has so much
to ponder here to the Lakers side that was so widely celebrated when it had a
fantastic trade deadline performance around this time a year ago, the
widespread intrigue here revolves around one man: LeBron James.
While the 39-year-old has not publicly campaigned for the Murray deal in the
way he did for Anthony Davis in 2018, he has been sending all sorts of
signals lately that he would like the Lakers to do something of significance.
Add in that James can become a free agent in fewer than five months from now,
and it’s not hard to understand why there’s so much spotlight on this
situation at the moment. With that in mind, let’s unpack how they all got
here and whether this is a deal that should get done.
一直到今天，NBA交易截止日的相关报导都非常冷清。
OG Anunoby到尼克的交易案已经是去年了(12/30)。Siakam交易至溜马的交易也已经是快一
个月前的事情。那之后我们只得到了Steven Adams去火箭的交易。而且是受伤的Adams。
但在距离星期四截止日期还有两天的情况下(东岸时间下午3点)，仍然存在烟火可能在
这里爆炸的机会，至少还有一个值得从各个方面仔细研究的高调交易案：Dejounte Murray
加盟湖人。考量所有参与方，从需要考虑非常多的老鹰管理层到去年在这个时候在交易截
止日有出色表现的湖人方，这里的广泛好奇心都环绕着一个人：LeBron James。
虽然这名39岁的球员还这次没有如同2018年呼吁管理层交易来Anthony Davis那般公开呼吁
的行为，他确实有向湖人释放一些必须做些什么的信号。再加上LBJ在不到5个月的时间就
可以成为自由球员，现在为什么这个情况受到如此多的关注也就不难理解了。考虑到这一
点，让我们深入了解他们是如何走到这一步的，以及是否应该完成这笔交易。
Hawks-Lakers talks
As our Lakers beat writer, Jovan Buha, detailed here, the Lakers’ trade
talks with Atlanta have continued in recent weeks. The holdup, as has been
widely reported for quite some time, is the Hawks’ clear disinterest in
taking back D’Angelo Russell and the need for a different landing spot for
the Lakers guard as a result (Brooklyn is routinely highlighted by league
sources as a Russell candidate here). The Hawks are known to covet Austin
Reaves, whom the Lakers have no interest in giving up. The Lakers, per Buha,
have offered Russell, rookie guard (and 17th pick) Jalen Hood-Schifino, the
2029 first-round pick (preferably protected) and additional draft
compensation.
As for the contracts, here’s how they break down.
Russell: Owed $17.3 million this season, with a player option worth $18.6
million in 2024-25.
Murray: Signed through the 2026-27 campaign, with a player option worth $31.6
million in 2027-28. If he picked up that option, the lump sum owed from this
season to the end of 2027-28 is $132.5 million. Murray, like James and fellow
Lakers star Anthony Davis, is represented by Rich Paul of Klutch Sports.
湖人-老鹰的谈话
如同我们湖人写手Jovan Buha所说，湖人与老鹰的交易谈话在这几周又持续了。而阻碍这
交易的就是先前被大量报导老鹰队D'Angelo Russell不感兴趣的这件事情并需要寻求第三
方来处理Russell(篮网不断的被提及为Russell的落脚可能)。老鹰也被知道想要Austin
Reaves，而湖人并不想要放弃他。根据Buha所言，湖人提供了Russel、菜鸟后卫(17顺位)
Jalen Hood-Schifino以及2029首轮选秀权(希望能被保护的)以及额外的选秀补偿。
而合约分析如下
Russell:今年17.3M 本季结束有24-25球季18.6M的球员选项
Murray:有到26-27球季的控制权并在27-28有一个31.6M的球员选项。如果他执行选项那将
会是到27-28球季132.5M的合约。Murray，如同James与湖人另一名球星Anthony Davis，都
是雇用Klutch Sports的Rich Paul为他们的经纪人。
The Lakers’ and LeBron’s (annual) pressure play
When it comes to James — aka the Benjamin Button of basketball — his
ability to continue playing at an elite level at this advanced age means
there will always be pressure on the Lakers’ ownership and front office to
maximize the roster around him. So with this season’s Lakers mired in
mediocrity again, currently standing at ninth place in the Western Conference
at 27-25 after winning their last three, it should come as no surprise that
the annual LBJ leverage games are back.
James has long since become the master of his own message, using all of the
various platforms at his disposal to communicate in the kind of way that
would be worthy of inclusion in “The Da Vinci Code.” The rare exception
came in January 2023, when his declaration that “Y’all know what the f—
should be happening” in our interview about that trade deadline season was a
moment of LeBron candor the likes of which we rarely see. Sure enough, he
walked it back on social media the next day.
So when James hit send last week on the hourglass tweet seen ’round the
Association, then later declined a request to explain its meaning while
speaking to reporters in New York, it sparked the latest round of speculation
about what he was truly saying.
湖人与LeBron(年度)的压力角力
当我们提到James