The New Orleans Pelicans are going to be asked about star forward Trey Murphy this offseason, but that doesn't mean a trade is coming.
Every team in the NBA wants Trey Murphy and, thus, he will be brought up in countless trade rumors this offseason. The thing is, the New Orleans Pelicans also want Murphy.
Now that doesn't mean that there is no world where the Pelicans trade their rising star soon, but it does mean that it would only happen in special circumstances.
In the past, the "known" asking price for Murphy was something similar to what the Memphis Grizzlies got for the Desmond Bane. The Orlando Magic sent the Grizzlies Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Cole Anthony, four unprotected first round picks and another future pick swap.
That is a haul and one that has not exactly worked out for the Magic yet. If some team were to offer that much draft capital to New Orleans, it would be hard for them to turn down. They might, though, because that's not what they're looking for anymore.
NBA Insider Jake Fischer recently updated his reporting on a potential Murphy trade this offseason with the following:
"Other teams absolutely want [Murphy]. The Pelicans, though, they shut down pretty much all interests for him in February and they didn't really want a picks-laden package. I think if the Pelicans were to move Murphy, it would be for more of a buy now, get better type of acquisition."
This lines up with common-sense thinking and with what the organization has been doing recently. This is a New Orleans team that is trying to win basketball games as soon as possible. For a lot of teams, two seasons of combined 47 wins would signal a rebuild.
Not for the Pelicans. There is enough talent at this roster's core to compete with a few adjustments. Murphy is a massive part of that core. He's young enough to fit into either window in front of New Orleans, so he fits whether they commit to Zion Williamson as the star longer term or if they transition to the rookies.
The soon-to-be 26-year-old averaged 21.5 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.8 assists on 47.0/37.9/88.6 shooting splits this past season. He has defensive upside, a career-high 1.5 steals per game, can playmake for others and is on a team-friendly deal for three more years. There is absolutely no reason for the Pelicans to try to trade Murphy, unless it were to make them better.
That then raises the question of who on the trade market is better than Murphy, and how much additional draft value is New Orleans willing to part with on top of him in order to get a deal done. The biggest name that comes to mind is Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown, who has been connected to the Pelicans already this offseason.
All things considered, the likeliest outcome right now is that Murphy ends up suiting up for New Orleans for the foreseeable future.
