Before negotiating with the Bulls the arrival DeMar DeRozanthe Kings were among the teams interested in Lauri Markkanen, as were the Warriors, Pelicans, Wolves, Spurs and now, the Heat.
The problem, according to The Athleticis that the Kings did not want to include, however Keegan Murray in talks for Lauri Markkanen. The Californian franchise would have instead made an offer with several Draft picks to secure the services of the Finn.
Danny Ainge has enough draft picks
An offer that did not convince the Jazz management, who already have a ton of Draft choices. The Jazz notably have three first Draft choices for 2025 (that of the Cavaliers, the Wolves and theirs) and four first Draft choices in 2027 (Cavs, Wolves, Lakers protected 1-4, and theirs).
Not enough to interest Danny Ainge, who wants a young player with high potential in exchange for the “Finnisher”.
The Kings therefore set a “deadline” to the Jazz in order to give themselves time to evaluate other options on the market. They finally managed to obtain DeMar DeRozan by sending Harrison Barnes to the Spurs, Chris Duarte to the Bulls and therefore keeping Keegan Murray to form their new offensive quartet.
| Keegan Murray | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | LF | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Party | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2022-23 | BAG | 80 | 30 | 45.3 | 41.1 | 76.5 | 1.1 | 3.5 | 4.6 | 1.2 | 2.0 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 12.2 |
| 2023-24 | BAG | 77 | 34 | 45.4 | 35.8 | 83.1 | 1.4 | 4.1 | 5.5 | 1.7 | 2.7 | 1.0 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 15.2 |
| Total | 157 | 32 | 45.4 | 38.4 | 80.5 | 1.2 | 3.8 | 5.0 | 1.5 | 2.3 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 13.7 | |
How to read the stats? GM = Games Played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Shots Made / Shots Attempted; 3pts = 3-pointers / 3-pointers Attempted; LF = Free Throws Made / Free Throws Attempted; Off = Offensive Rebound; Def = Defensive Rebound; Tot = Total Rebounds; Pd = Assists; Fte: Personal Fouls; Int = Steals; Bp = Loose Balls; Ct: Blocks; Pts = Points.
