For The Athletic’s Sam Amick, it’s no longer a matter of if but when would the Los Angeles Lakers land Dejounte Murray.

Amick made the rounds, polling NBA people, and concluded that the Lakers are the frontrunners in landing the Atlanta Hawks’ $120 million star guard.

“It feels like that [trade] has got just very real legs to it,” Amick said on the January 23 episode of “The Athletic NBA Show” podcast. Shams Charania has reported that the offers have gone back and forth. There was some chatter that the Hawks ideally would love to get their hands on Austin Reeves. You know that’s not going to happen right?

So it’s a question of like how long does [Hawks general manager] Landry Fields hold out but it feels like that Lakers have separated themselves from the Dejounte pack and it feels like to some degree, they’ve locked in on him as a guy that they think can help them.”

The Lakers and the Hawks have previously discussed a framework of a potential Murray deal, according to Charania.

“The Lakers and Hawks did have some pretty extensive conversations about a Dejounte Murray trade a couple of weeks ago,” Charania said on Fanduel TV’s “Run It Back” on January 22. It was centered around D’Angelo Russell, a 2029 first-round draft pick, and a pick swap. I’m told the holdup was that Atlanta wanted to find a third team for D’Angelo Russell.”

With Russell balling out lately, the Lakers’ chances of finding a third team have increased.

Russell led the Lakers anew with 27 points and 10 assists on Tuesday, January 23, but the team fell to the Los Angeles Clippers 127-116. LeBron James sat out with an ankle injury.

Russell averaged 27.2 points and 7.0 assists on 40% 3-point shooting over his last 6 games.

Lakers Internally Discussed Trading for 3rd Star
After pushing all their chips to a Russell Westbrook trade that ultimately backfired, the Lakers are mulling another “all-in” deal for a star, according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.

“The Lakers have discussed internally the possibility of packaging three picks, along with players they already have on their books, to pursue a bona fide star, such as Donovan Mitchell of the Cleveland Cavaliers or Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks, team sources told ESPN,” McMenamin wrote on January 23.

If the Lakers elect not to pursue Murray this trade deadline, the Lakers will have access to 3 tradable first-round picks beginning in June’s NBA Draft.

Young will enter the third season of a five-year, $215 million max deal next season. On the other hand, Mitchell will enter next season with only one guaranteed year left in his five-year, $163 million contract. The Cavaliers star is expected to decline his player option after next season.

Lakers Continue to Register Interest in Bruce Brown
After failing twice to land Bruce Brown, the Lakers continue to register interest in Bruce Brown, who was part of the Pascal Siakam return package for Toronto.

“You go back to the summer, and they had some confidence that they might be able to sign Bruce Brown in free agency until Indiana stepped up and offered the two-year, $45 million [deal],” Wojnarowski said on NBA Today on January 22. “They didn’t get him. He goes to Indiana. The Lakers tried to see if they could trade for Bruce Brown from the Pacers, [they] didn’t get him. He goes to Toronto as part of the Pascal Siakam deal and they’re going to continue to be on the phone with Toronto between now and the trade deadline, trying to see if there’s a way that they can get Bruce Brown.”

Brown played a key role in the Denver Nuggets championship run last season, sweeping the Lakers in the Western Conference along the way.