The Los Angeles Lakers are looking at Keegan Murray as a possible trade target while they sort through wing options for the summer, a sign that Rui Hachimura’s place in the roster picture is not locked in. If the Lakers cannot land the kind of two-way help they want in restricted free agency, they may have to move into the trade market.
That is why Murray is showing up in the conversation now. Rob Pelinka and the Lakers are looking for wings who can defend and still do enough offensively to stay on the floor, and the profile they are chasing has been linked to the Trey Murphy III mold. In that same framework, Peyton Watson has also been named among the Lakers’ restricted free-agent wing targets, which gives the team a shorter path before it has to consider a trade.
Murray’s name carries real weight because he is not just a theoretical fit. He was the No. 4 overall pick by the Kings out of Iowa in 2022 and finished No. 5 in Rookie of the Year voting. Over his first three seasons with Sacramento, he averaged 13.3 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists while shooting 37.2% from 3, and he appeared in 76 games or more in each of those seasons. That track record is part of why he has already established himself as a winning player in league circles.
Iztok Franko, on a recent episode of Buha's Block, said Murray was one other name he had in mind for the Lakers and compared him to Devin Vassell. Franko said Murray can defend the bigs and do more than just stand in the corner as a shooter, which is exactly the kind of two-way versatility the Lakers are hunting. The comparison matters because it places Murray in the same bucket as a wing who can survive on both ends, not just fill a spot and wait for the ball.
The catch is that availability and fit are not the same thing. Murray was identified as a possible target, but that does not mean the Lakers have a clean path to him, and his value after years of steady production makes him harder to pry loose. He also missed most of the 2025-26 season, appearing in only 23 games for Sacramento because of multiple injuries, which adds another layer of uncertainty to any pursuit.
For now, the Lakers’ summer plan runs through two tracks at once: try the restricted free-agent wing market first, and be ready to pivot if those options do not work out. If that fallback comes, Murray is one of the names that could force the conversation to turn from fit on paper to what it would actually take to change the roster.
