Pelicans 'stole' desired star player from LeBron James and Los Angeles Lakers

The Los Angeles Lakers have to build a championship roster around LeBron James in the final years of his career. So far, there are no big splashes from general manager Rob Pelinka.

In the 2024 NBA Draft, Dalton Knecht was a great addition and, of course, there’s the emotional side to Bronny James arriving to the franchise. However, there’s no real upgrade from last season.

Anthony Davis, D’Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura, Gabe Vincent or Jaxson Hayes weren’t enough to overcome Nikola Jokic the Denver Nuggets in the playoffs.

Furthermore, the Western Conference is loaded with the Thunder acquiring Alex Caruso, the Mavericks pushing back, the Timberwolves and now the New Orleans Pelicans thanks to a massive trade.

LeBron James will come back with the Lakers in the 2024-2025 season (Getty Images)

What is the next team of Dejounte Murray?

A few days ago,  Shams Charania, reported that Dejounte Murray was a real target for the Los Angeles Lakers. It was a key move to boost their chances on the defensive side of the ball.

“The pressure is on the Lakers’ front office to make major changes on the roster to an extent. This team came up short this past year. You can’t have holes. I think they’re going to look at the defensive side of the ball. They have to be aggressive. One name that they did pursue last season is Dejounte Murray.”

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However, those hopes came to an end abruptly as the Atlanta Hawks will make a blockbuster trade with the New Orleans Pelicans. This is the full operation between teams according to Adrian Wojnarowski.

“The Pelicans are sending two first-round picks (a 2025 selection via the Los Angeles Lakers) and a 2027 selection (least favorable from either the Milwaukee Bucks or New Orleans’ own) to the Hawks for the 27-year-old Murray, sources said. Forwards Larry Nance Jr. and E.J. Liddell and guard Dyson Daniels are also going from New Orleans to Atlanta in the deal.”

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