With the deadline under a month away, the New Orleans Pelicans are seemingly keeping Zion Williamson, Trey Murphy and Herb Jones off the trade market for this season.
Teams around the league have been waiting to see when the New Orleans Pelicans would begin their fire sale, but they are going to be upset as it has become clear that no major trade is coming anytime soon.
NBA on Prime insider Chris Haynes reported on Friday that the Pelicans have begun informing teams that Zion Williamson, Trey Murphy, Herb Jones, Derik Queen and Jeremiah Fears would not be traded during the season.
Many fans in New Orleans breathed a sigh of relief, given the constant rumors of a Murphy or Jones trade. Those are two fan favorites that no one wants to see go, as there is no real need to give up on either of them right now.
Murphy is playing fantastic basketball. He has scored 42 and 35 points. If the Pelicans wanted to see a superstar turn for the forward, they are finally seeing a glimpse of it.
The 25-year-old is averaging 21.7 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists on 49.7/38.5/90.3 shooting splits. It feels like he's starting to get underrated because the team isn't winning games.
New Orleans is smart to hang on to Murphy now and there is no real reason to trade him in the future, either. He is under contract for the next three years after this, fits perfectly next to Queen and is only 25.
The reported market of the Golden State Warriors wanting to make a move surrounding Jonathan Kuminga was never going to happen. It would take multiple unprotected first round picks to get the Pelicans to even entertain a trade.
Jones is another player that is already under contract for a while. He recently signed a three-year extension that will keep him through the end of the 2029/2030 season with a $24 million player option in that final year.
He is a highly-sought after defensive wing that sometimes shoots threes, more so than a true three-and-D guy.
Like Murphy, it seems like it would take a couple of first round picks to get the Pelicans interested. Jones would be a perfect piece to a championship team, so it will be worth monitoring his market still.
Williamson is an ever-interesting case. The fanbase seems ready to move on and embrace Queen and Fears as the new era, but the star forward has been so good since returning from injury.
The 25-year-old is averaging 23.3 points, 5.8 rebounds and three assists on 62% from the field over his last 14 games. He just doesn't seem like a great fit next to Queen, which is a big issue.
With his injury history, the market hasn't been great for the former first pick. New Orleans could be seeing if he can stay healthy and continue performing at this level before looking to move him some time this summer. Perhaps a risk, but if his market is already as low as it seems, there is no real reason not to try to raise it.
As for Queen and Fears, that trade was never going to happen. There was much invested this offseason for this rookie class and they have been very promising to start their careers.
The Pelicans could still make some deals this season, but they won't come from their top players. Think of names like Jose Alvarado, Saddiq Bey and Yves Missi as potential trade pieces instead.