New development:D’Angelo Russell to the Knicks Dejounte Murray to the Lakers Birds of prey hold the key

Tom Thibodeau spoke to media members after Monday’s practice. He touched on Quentin Grimes’ current situation, offering the third-year guard some advice amid the flurry of rumors involving him and the reported interest of New York in moving him before the Feb. 8 deadline.

This time of the year, I always say for every 100 trades that get talked about, one gets done,” Thibodeau said. “That’s why I think you stick to your routine. You block out all the outside stuff. Know what’s in front of you and keep your focus there like basketball is your focus

Coach Thibs is right, but even if this column discusses just one of those 99 trades that will never happen, it makes sense to go over it because it’s a rather interesting scenario… that could actually turn into that highly improbable 1-out-of-100 trade that ends up happening.

Just yesterday, Monday, Jan. 22, Marc Stein dropped another entry in his newsletter and discussed the interest of the Los Angeles Lakers in Atlanta’s two-guard Dejounte Murray.

Trading D’Lo for Murray works on a straight, one-for-one basis as the former is earning $17.3 million this season to the latter’s $18.2 million for the 2024 campaign. That’s great, as it facilitates a trade between both franchises just by adding draft compensation, such as that 2029 first-round pick mentioned by Stein