Sleeper team 'very much in play' in Dejounte Murray sweepstakes

Dejounte Murray may be defying all odds and returning to the Southwest Division.

On a Bleacher Report stream Wednesday, NBA insider Chris Haynes revealed that there may be one sleeper team for the Atlanta Hawks star Murray — the New Orleans Pelicans. Haynes said the Pelicans are “very much in play” in the Murray sweepstakes but mentioned that no deal is imminent at this point.

The former All-Star guard Murray, a widely anticipated trade candidate for the 22-28 Hawks, has mostly been connected to the Los Angeles Lakers thus far. But a recent report suggested that the Lakers could decide to hold onto their assets in the hopes of targeting a bigger fish in the offseason. Although Murray has also drawn interest from a top Eastern Conference contender, New Orleans might have the juiciest assets to offer to Atlanta.

The Pelicans have a rich spread of young talent beyond just star forward Zion Williamson. Herbert Jones, Trey Murphy III, Jordan Hawkins and Dyson Daniels are upside pieces who are all 25 or younger. New Orleans also has bigger contracts like CJ McCollum and Jonas Valanciunas to potentially match with Murray on.

At 29-21 (seventh in the West), the Pelicans might be keen on making their move. They were linked to a star center on the trade market not too long ago but could decide that Murray, who used to be their division rival with the San Antonio Spurs, is the guy to go after instead.