Odds of a Dejounte Murray Trade Increased After Surprise Julius Randle Deal

The Timberwolves need another ball-handler, and they now have the perfect trade exception to acquire one from the Pelicans.

Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

The long-awaited trade season is officially here. The NBA is in full offseason mode after the Giannis Antetokounmpo blockbuster trade on Monday evening. Amid all the Giannis-to-Miami chaos, one All-Star trade went under the radar. The Minnesota Timberwolves traded Julius Randle to Brooklyn in a salary dump, thus creating a whopping $33.3 traded player exception. This increases the likelihood of the New Orleans Pelicans trading Dejounte Murray.

The fact that the Timberwolves traded Randle without taking any salary back suggests that more moves are incoming. The $33.3 trade exception means that Minnesota can now bring in a player for that salary slot without having to match salaries in a trade.

Do you know who fits perfectly to that exception? One former All-Star guard named Dejounte Murray.

Dejounte Murray-to-Minnesota May Be a Real Possibility Now

The Timberwolves have expressed a desire to add more ball-handling and playmaking in the backcourt this summer. Derrick White has been a popular trade target for them, but it seems unlikely that the Celtics would move on from him, especially after failing to acquire Antetokounmpo.

Given Minnesota's limited resources in terms of tradeable assets, they may not be able to do better than Dejounte Murray. He fills a clear need as a solid playmaker who can dribble, pass, and shoot without creating defensive concerns.

The Timberwolves may be able to acquire Murray without giving up too much because of his contract and injury concerns. The veteran guard came back from a ruptured Achilles last season and had a solid finish to the season, but his availability on back-to-backs and how many minutes he can average remain to be seen. Considering that he makes $32.8 million next season, it's hard to imagine him having a ton of suitors other than desperate teams like Minnesota.

After the Randle trade, NBA insider Kevin O'Connor mentioned Murray as a potential Timberwolves target, along with Derrick White, Trey Murphy, Jrue Holiday, and Myles Turner. It makes no sense for them to go after Turner since they already have Rudy Gobert. White and Murphy will cost way too much, leaving Murray as one of the best options out there.

The Timberwolves can trade their 2033 first-round pick and offer a 2028 pick swap. Otherwise, they are very limited in draft capital. They have last year's first-round pick, Joan Beringer, and athletic young wing Terrence Shannon Jr. as potential sweeteners in a deal, but they are certainly bereft of high-end assets.

However, this should be more than enough to lure Murray away from New Orleans. The Pelicans should be more interested in getting off Murray's contract than receiving anything of value in return.

Even if it's just a salary dump for a couple of second-round picks, the Pelicans would be wise to consider moving Murray into Minnesota's trade exception. This would give them much-needed flexibility and some cap space heading into free agency.