NBA Trade Rumors: Dejounte Murray suspiciously held out, plus the latest on Bruce Brown, Andrew Wiggins

With less than 24 hours left until the NBA trade deadline, Wednesday saw several minor deals completed across the league. with monte morris, Xavier Tillman and Simone Fontecchio In a changing team.

However, at the time of publication, some of the big-name players known to be available by this deadline are still on the current team. Check out the latest rumors about where they’re going or if they’ll be relocating at all.

So, are the Hawks going to trade Dejounte Murray or not?

One of the most entertaining parts of trade season is watching which players are inexplicably suspended or listed as questionable for games, but this is often the case when players are injured or latent. Observers wonder if that means the team is keeping them quiet to avoid ruining a potential deal. Wednesday saw several such seemingly random illnesses. lakers Keeping D’Angelo Russell out of practice Mysterious, yet not fully explained reasons and Detroit excludes Bojan Bogdanovic Deadline Eve matchup with Kings is questionable Even though he has only missed two of the team’s past 30 games..

But the Hawks are the most questionable of all. Give Dejounte Murray For “lower back tension” celtics. Now, obviously, there’s a good chance Murray’s back is actually hurting. Their previous matches are questionable And while he did eventually play, the timing of his absence can’t help but be questioned for a player whose name is frequently mentioned on the trade block.

Could that be a sign that a Murray deal is imminent? Well…maybe not, but the Hawks are still discussing a possible trade for him even though he’s less than a day away from the buzzer. Yahoo Sports’ Jake Fischer reports The Pelicans were the most recent team he discussed a contract with, even though it doesn’t sound like his final destination:

The Pelicans and Hawks actually held detailed trade talks this week, a league source told Yahoo Sports, including various plans for both Okongwu and Capela, as well as All-Star point guard Dejounte Murray. It is said to have been included. But there was little progress between Atlanta and New Orleans, according to multiple sources familiar with the talks.

That report was further elaborated on earlier in the day by veteran insider Mark Stein. I wrote it on his substack. “There has yet to be any indication around the league that the Hawks will be able to secure a trade partner who will provide them with the two first-round picks they have consistently sought for Murray.”

And it looks like Atlanta is in an impasse with the Lakers, with Los Angeles reportedly No major movements are expected by tomorrow..Additionally, it was interesting to note on Tuesday’s podcast that several sources brought up how the Hawks had John Collins on the trade block for years before recently trading him. basically do nothing, and how that shows they could clearly be comfortable doing the same thing with Murray. It’s almost as if that’s the story Atlanta is trying to sell to the public…

We’ll see if someone swoops in here at the last minute or if Atlanta lowers their demands, but for now, if the broken negotiations with the Pelicans are the latest, Murray is very much a possibility until at least this summer. There seems to be a possibility that he will continue to be a top player. Slopes that can affect their activities.

Bruce Brown into jazz?

Well, this was unexpected, but in the same column quoted above, Fisher reports: utah jazz Here are the latest teams to show interest in Raptors guard Bruce Brown, who is here now but probably not for long.

There is another team to consider as a strong possibility for Brown. According to league sources, the Jazz have discussed a framework with the Raptors to bring Brown to Utah in exchange for Kelly Olynyk and Ochai Agbaji. It remains to be seen what draft capital will be included in those negotiations, but officials said Toronto has consistently sent a message to rival teams that it is seeking a first-round pick for Brown.

For what it’s worth, Tony Jones (Jazz reporter) The Athletic) immediately pushed back on Fisher’s report.

But if this is happening, it still raises some questions. It’s true that Olynyk makes some sense in Toronto as a floor spacer for Scottie Barnes, but this ended up being a multi-team deal and Olynyk rerouted again to get Toronto even more draft capital. Is there a possibility that it will happen? Is Danny Ainge just involved in screwing over his arch-rivals in Los Angeles and New York to make them pay Brown in full? Would Brown also make sense in guard-heavy Utah?

All of these answers are unknown at this point, but at least the conflicting reports are a much-needed piece of drama in what has been a boring deadline week so far, so we can thank Trader Danny for that regardless .

Will Andrew Wiggins be traded?

Shams Charania The Athletic On Monday, it was reported that the Warriors are interested in Andrew Wiggins from the Indiana Pacers. dallas mavericksbut it wasn’t clear if he would be moved since Golden State’s ownership had not issued a clear order for a pay reduction.

Since then, the noise surrounding the 2022 NBA champions has been mostly silent…On Wednesday, Marc Stein reported that the Warriors will consider trade options for Andrew Wiggins until the last minute, according to league officials. .

He detailed some of the calculations that go into making that decision for them. His latest Substack column:

Less clear, but could they find a trade opportunity that would be more pleasing than just keeping Wiggins? The best course for Golden State is that Wiggins is in the first year of a new four-year, $109 million contract, well short of peak value after struggling the past season and a half, but with recent hopes. He’s finding some form in a frontcourt trio alongside Draymond Green and upstart Jonathan Kuminga, which could prove to be a sign that he’s trying to rack up some form.

I shared it with Enclosed link is Tuesday The Mavericks’ reported interest in a trade for Wiggins is exaggerated. Late Tuesday, after publishing that article, I was told the same thing about Milwaukee’s reported interest in Wiggins.

But the Warriors just want to make the point that they aren’t obligated to make cuts just for the sake of payroll. But unless they actually do that, I wonder if they can move away from Wiggins without a draft pick, given how disappointing his season has been overall and how disappointing he’s been. So it’s natural to be skeptical that they won’t leave anytime soon. It would cost more to keep him on the second apron team than some of his potential suitors.

(Golden State is currently Salaries above second apron are $25 million.This means that not only will you receive an exorbitant tax bill; But they too “There are no mid-level exceptions, you can’t consolidate contracts in trades, you can’t trade a first-round pick in seven years, you can’t sign for free and get a contract in a trade. Not even ‘agents elsewhere,’ among others. “Therefore, there are compelling basketball reasons, not just budget, for cutting salaries while sitting 22-25 and 11th in the West Division.”

We’ll soon see what they (and everyone else) do. Thankfully, he has less than 24 hours left to know for sure which of these trades, or others, will be completed when the final buzzer sounds tomorrow. , February 7th at 3pm ET.