In a recent article, Zach Harper of The Athletic suggested that the pair of both Dejounte Murray and Derrick White could be “gettable” via trade this offseason. (subscription required)
The NY Knicks are in need of a primary ballhandler, and while neither of the two guards is fit to be the main facilitator of a team, in my opinion, the offense ran well through Julius Randle this past season so grabbing either of them could possibly work depending on the price for the acquisition.
The Spurs currently own the 12th pick of this year’s draft and they’d be wise to try their best to move up and get a key cornerstone type of player to build their team around for the future.
While Murray and White are solid young players, neither of them is someone you’d develop a roster around to try to win a title.
With DeMar DeRozan all but gone this offseason, moving on from one or both of the two guards should be a priority of San Antonio’s.
Should the Knicks pursue a trade for Dejounte Murray or Derrick White?
The Spurs have a few terrific young up-and-comers in Keldon Johnson, Lonnie Walker IV, and Devin Vassell as building blocks for the team’s future, but if they could move one of their tradable assets in an attempt to get into the top 5-8 of this year’s draft, it should eventually pay dividends for a team lacking a superstar-type player to be the face of the franchise.
Both Murray and White are scoring guards who can create for others and also know how to get their own shot.
Murray is more of a penetrating, slashing guard while White is the better shooter of the two.
It seems that where one is strong, the other is weak in the same department.
Murray is the player I would have my eye on as a Knicks fan, as he does a lot of the things Thibs would want his point guard to do.
The shooting is a bit of a concern seeing how he shot under 32% on the season last year, but he’s still just 24 years old. If the Knicks could turn both RJ Barrett and Julius Randle into 40% shooters from deep, they can improve anyone’s shot.
Murray is still signed on a relatively fair contract for the next 3 seasons where he’ll earn just shy of $50 million combined.
I’d personally rather the Knicks go all-in on a deal for Jalen Brunson if he became available but Murray could be an option as well.
What say you, Knicks fans?