Fantasy Basketball Trade Thought: Should You Acquire Dejounte Murray Before Potential Real Deal?

There’s already been several big NBA trades, and there’s still time for several more to take place before the trade deadline.

Atlanta Hawks’ Dejounte Murray has been a popular name in trade talks, so let’s discuss what you should do with him in your fantasy league before a potential real deal takes place.

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Murray’s Season Stats

Murray has started all 43 games he’s played in this season, averaging 21.4 points, 5 rebounds and assists, 1.3 steals and 0.3 blocks while committing 2.2 turnovers and 1.7 fouls across 34.8 minutes played.

He’s only failed to reach double figures in points once this season. He’s scored over 20 points on 28 occasions, with six games over 30 points and one contest over 40 points.

Murray has had five or more rebounds on 23 occasions, hitting double digits on three occasions. He’s had five or more assists in 25 contests, with three times over 10 assists. Murray has tallied a steal in all but 12 games, while recording a block in 12 games.

He’s a fairly well-rounded player, which makes him a good fantasy asset. He currently sits 26th on the FantasySP trade value charts. 

Potential Landing Spots

The Los Angeles Lakers are one team that’s shown lots of interest in Murray. 

Of course, playing alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis would be great for a player like Murray, but it could also come with some downsides. James and Davis are both great scorers, and it’s rare that an offense can support three 20+ point scorers at the same time. That could mean Murray gets a bump in assists, but sees his scoring average dip a bit. 

It was previously reported that the Philadelphia 76ers, Milwaukee Bucks, New York Knicks, Detroit Pistons, Miami Heat, Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs were also interested in acquiring Murray. Let’s briefly discuss those three landing spots.

Philadelphia has Joel Embiid as its centerpiece, while Tyrese Maxey has also stepped into a big offensive role for the team. Murray would give the team another guard that could possibly help them overtake the Boston Celtics and Bucks in the Eastern Conference - I personally don’t think that move would do so.

Anyways, much like in a potential trade to Los Angeles, Murray would have to contend with two other good scorers in Embiid and Maxey. That could hurt his scoring average but boost his assist numbers.

A trade to Milwaukee would probably hurt Murray’s value the most. Not only are Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard there, but Khris Middleton is a strong third scoring option that’s starting to surge of late. Acquiring Murray could allow the team to either bring him or Malik Beasley off the bench, and Milwaukee might boast the best offensive roster in the league if that deal were to happen.

I think Murray’s scoring average would dip the most if he got moved to Milwaukee. There’s already so many mouths to feed there, so unless they brought Murray off the bench, he’d be the third or fourth scoring option at all times.

A trade to the Knicks makes quite a bit of sense, even after the few moves the Knicks have made already. It would likely push Donte DiVincenzo to a bench role, which puts Murray in the same starting lineup as Jalen Brunson, OG Anunoby and Julius Randle.

The Knicks lack the elite scorers some of these other possible destinations do, but with Brunson, Anunoby and Randle on the team, it might be a more balanced approach, with the hot hand leading the way each night. It’s not the worst landing spot, but it’s also not the best.

I was a bit surprised to see the Pistons and Spurs on this list, as making a move for Murray seems like something a contender should be doing. Of course, if Murray goes to either of those teams, his fantasy value is probably better than if he was traded to a contender.

Murray and Cade Cunningham would be a fun 1-2 punch in Detroit, while Murray and Victor Wembanyama could be the future cornerstones for San Antonio. I would discuss these teams further, but I don’t see a contender letting Murray get away.

The Heat made a lot of sense for a landing spot for Murray, but with Terry Rozier being dealt to Miami, I don’t know if they have the assets to acquire Murray too. The Heat already have Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro and Jimmy Butler, and Jaime Jacquez Jr. has emerged as a solid piece too, so unless they move on from one of those guys, getting Murray now just doesn’t make a lot of sense. Maybe they will find a way to make it work.

That leaves the Warriors, which is another fascinating idea. Stephen Curry clearly leads Golden State, but I wouldn’t be surprised for the organization to make just about anyone else available in a trade for Murray. The team needs a jumpstart, and getting Murray might accomplish that.

Playing alongside Curry would probably do wonders for Murray in his point and assist totals. I’d probably say his fantasy value is the highest in Golden State among the list of contending teams (yes, the Warriors are still contenders).

How to Proceed with Murray

Now that we’ve identified some potential landing spots, let’s discuss how to approach Murray in your fantasy league. The Lakers seem like the frontrunner to land Murray, so that’s what I’m using behind my reasoning here.

The move to a contender makes many think his fantasy value automatically shoots up, but I think his player rating on our trade value charts would sink a decent amount. I’m not saying he’s not going to be a valuable fantasy asset, but he won’t be nearly the player he is currently for the Hawks.

If I owned Murray, I’d try to sell high right now. If he doesn’t land with Los Angeles, he should go to another contender, and almost all of those contenders will hurt Murray’s fantasy value at least a bit. The only positive landing spot in my eyes is Golden State, but there’s several teams where his value goes down, so I’d try to trade Murray now instead of waiting.

If you are lacking guards on your fantasy team, Murray is a great player to acquire at his current averages. If he’s on the trading block in your league, I’d suggest trying to hold off on a deal for him until the deadline has passed and his team is locked into place. 

You probably won’t be able to land Murray for cheap, especially with how well he’s played of late. A trade might make sense now, but if he gets moved to one of these contenders soon after, the trade could be one-sided in the favor of the other team. I’d much rather wait before making a deal for Murray - if he gets traded to another team in your league, then there’s plenty of other solid fantasy players out there to target instead.

As you ponder a trade for Murray, or any trades in your fantasy league, make sure to use the FantasySP Trade Analyzer to make sure it’s a fair trade. Check out the trade value charts to get some ideas in mind and try to make something happen!