The Detroit Pistons are pursuing dynamic New Orleans Pelicans forward Trey Murphy III, who drew rave reviews from his former head coach, James Borrego
Now that the New York Knicks took down the San Antonio Spurs in five games to win the NBA Championship, the entire basketball world is officially onto the offseason. While the Knicks and Spurs are the final two squads to reach that mark, the Detroit Pistons have been locked into exploration mode for about a month already with President of Basketball Operations Trajan Langdon wasting no time to make his evaluations.
During his end of season press conference, Langdon acknowledged that three-point shooting and ball handling were sources of intrigue back at the Trade Deadline, so it would stand to reason those areas continue to entice the Detroit exec, but the team also needs to find a long-term answer at power forward.
To be succinct, New Orleans Pelicans forward Trey Murphy III checks two of those boxes right off the bat, though he’s comfortable handling the rock as well. Over the past several weeks, the 6-8 wing with five years of pro experience has been consistently linked to the Pistons in terms of trade talks, and it sounds like discussions between the two organizations are heating up.
After scoring 21.5 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game last season, Murphy’s stock rose considerably over the past 12 months, and his 37.9% rate from three-point range is of particular interest to the Pistons. Murphy has the length to start at the four, and he’s a serviceable defender who wouldn’t be hunted down for mismatch opportunities during the playoffs. By all accounts, Murphy has the dynamic skill set to give Detroit another secondary scorer, and his former coach, James Borrego, sang his praises all throughout the 2025-26 campaign.
“(Trey Murphy III) has become such a weapon out there,” Borrego said. “He is a multiple-level scorer, taking what the game gives… His handle has gotten a lot better this year when playing off the bounce. I think he has grown in a tremendous amount of ways. We saw that the other night. No matter how they were playing him, he finds a way to impact the game.”
During the postseason, the Pistons ran into trouble when the Orlando Magic and the Cleveland Cavs sagged back to crowd the paint, which then put more pressure on Detroit’s three-point shooters to step up with big shots. If Murphy were standing on the perimeter, his gravity would be enough to spread the floor and create more room for Cade Cunningham and Jalen Duren to operate. But Murphy is more than just a shooter according to his former head coach.
“It’s his ability to still impact the game at the rim and in transition,” Borrego said. “Obviously, the three-ball is important.”
So, the Pistons would be trading for a more versatile player who drips optionality if they were to work out a trade for Murphy. Now, doing so could be a particularly costly endeavor considering how much Murphy is valued within the Pelicans organization, but the Pistons understand that this could be a crucial offseason for Detroit. The Pistons were knocking on the door last season, but perhaps a player of Murphy’s caliber could help the squad formally arrive as a title contender next year.
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