The Detroit Pistons made a handful of trades this summer, but they were unable to pry Trey Murphy III from the New Orleans Pelicans
Looking back to the Detroit Pistons over the last year, it is inarguable that the squad exceeded expectations by winning 60 regular season games and securing the top seed in the Eastern Conference. Once the Pistons made it to the playoffs, their road became significantly more difficult since Jalen Duren ran into a productivity brick wall which nearly halved his scoring, and Detroit was unable to make it out of the second round.
Before finding out how far the Pistons could go, the squad was criticized for not taking a more drastic approach at the Trade Deadline. At the time, the Pistons executed a three-team deal to send Jaden Ivey to the Chicago Bulls in exchange for Kevin Huerter and a first-round pick swap with the Minnesota Timberwolves, but that was not the type of win-now swing that many believed Detroit needed to take.
Around the deadline, Trey Murphy III was rumored to be an option, but the New Orleans Pelicans were unclear regarding their desire to trade such a talented young wing. In the end, the Pelicans held onto Murphy for a bit longer, but they found themselves in a similar state of indecisiveness this offseason.
At the start of summer, the Pelicans were shopping Murphy around for a big haul in return, one that included multiple first-round draft picks and multiple role players who could facilitate a rebuild. Though several teams were interested, which included the Pistons, a deal never came to fruition, and the Pelicans are believed to have taken Murphy off the trade block with the start of training camp just around the corner.
Last season, Murphy averaged 21.5 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game while connecting from three-point range at a 37.9% rate despite New Orleans’ lackluster record on the court, so a fresh start in some new surroundings could have been a positive development for the Virginia product. In Detroit, Murphy would have the advantage of playing alongside an All-NBA point guard who is setting him up for open looks in Cade Cunningham, and that’s certainly never been part of his playing experience with the Pelicans over the past five seasons.
But instead of working out a deal to bring the dynamic 6-8 forward to the Motor City, the Pistons opted to make a handful of moves to address their supporting cast. In a sense, Detroit is standing pat with their three-man core of Cunningham, Jalen Duren and Ausar Thompson while adjusting the pieces that surround those franchise pillars in order to correct some of the postseason struggles that the squad ran into. Since each member of the Pistons’ trio is younger than 25 years old, the team is still growing together, and last year’s playoff run should be used to inform the organization of what the team needed to change.
Along those lines, the Pistons responded by bringing in a slew of veteran sharp-shooting three-point options on the trade market who should provide Cunningham with some viable shooting options this year, but acquiring Murphy would have been the type of move that catapulted Detroit to the top of the contenders list in the East.
