On February 8, the truth about the New York Knicks’ interest in Dejounte Murray will be revealed. According to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports on Marc Stein’s “The Stein Line,” Murray has received offers from two organizations. The Knicks were not among those two clubs. Fischer reports that the Los Angeles Lakers and Utah Jazz have made proposals to the Atlanta Hawks.
However, even though a contract has not been reached, the Knicks still have the option of signing a player if they think he will benefit the club. The Knicks acquire Murray and Kenrich Williams from the Oklahoma City Thunder as part of a three-team trade proposed by Bleacher Report’s Andy Bailey.
The final agreement would send Dejounte Murray and Kenrich Williams to the Knicks, Evan Fournier, Davis Bertans, a 2024 first-round pick from New York, a 2025 first-round pick from New York (via Milwaukee), and a 2025 first-round pick from Oklahoma City (via Philadelphia) to Atlanta, and Clint Capela and Quentin Grimes to the Thunder. Bailey observed the following about the deal:
“This agreement puts the Knicks with a predicament similar to what Atlanta has faced with Murray. A backcourt with him and Brunson would be undersized. Donte DiVincenzo and Josh Hart are also on New York’s roster, which adds to the theoretical difficulty.
“Having all four on the roster would make the backcourt rotation extremely congested, but all four of those guys can play bigger than their reported heights. DiVincenzo and Hart, in particular, could get away with a few minutes at 3.”
Dejounte Murray adds to the New York Knicks’ scoring, facilitating, and above-average defending capabilities. Murray’s defense has not been as good as it was with the San Antonio Spurs, but the expectation is that it will improve if he is dealt to a competitive club.
Murray should be more energetic on that side of the court now that he has more to play for on a stronger team. On the season, the 27-year-old averages 21.2 points. He has 5.1 rebounds and 5.2 assists while shooting 46.8% from the floor. Murray is also hitting the greatest three-point percentage of his career, 36.8% on 6.2 tries per game.
