The Detroit Pistons could exit the offseason with an A+ grade if they’re able to acquire Trey Murphy III from the New Orleans Pelicans
Last season, the Detroit Pistons improved year-over-year by 16 wins and seized the top seed in the Eastern Conference entering the playoffs with a 60-22 record, but the Motown squad faltered in the postseason and were eliminated by the Cleveland Cavaliers in seven games during the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
Given that tangible step forward, the Pistons are clearly on the right track to becoming the team they want to be, but there is still more work to do. After a dominant regular season, 22-year old All-Star center Jalen Duren struggled during the playoffs and saw his scoring production virtually cut in half, so maintaining consistency at crucial times is one element that Detroit can improve upon.
But in order to enter the 2026-27 campaign as a retooled unit that can make some noise in May, the Pistons need to make a few adjustments. So far, Detroit has traded away Isaiah Stewart and Marcus Sasser (which will become official on June 6) while letting Tobias Harris walk away in free agency, so the team will look a little different when September arrives. Along those lines, the Pistons also agreed to a trade for former Oklahoma City Thunder sharp-shooting guard Isaiah Joe before signing eight-year NBA vet John Collins to a three-year deal (which may materialize as a sign-and-trade with the Los Angeles Clippers), so Detroit is staying far from idle during the offseason.
However, Pistons President of Basketball Operations Trajan Langdon’s work is not done. Duren is still on the market as a restricted free agent who’s met with the Sacramento Kings and Los Angeles Lakers, so reaching an agreement to retain JD is a high-ranking agenda item for Detroit. Duren reportedly wants a hefty raise after making the All-NBA Third Team, but the Pistons are angling for a contract that would keep the big man in Motown while still maintaining a little bit of roster flexibility and optionality.
Apart from Duren’s contract situation, the Pistons were successful in bringing in a pair of perimeter threats in Joe and Collins considering both players can hit the long ball at a 40% rate, so that takes care of one important offseason task. Additionally, Detroit needed to find some help for Cade Cunningham in the creation department after the fifth-year point guard struggled to drive the team forward single-handedly from a playmaking perspective. And in order to address that need, the Pistons traded up in the first round to select former Stanford guard Ebuka Okorie, so Detroit may have solved that problem as well.
But since Duren was less effective as a scorer in the playoffs, it would appear that the Pistons could still use a bona fide No. 2 option on the offensive end. For several months now, New Orleans Pelicans forward Trey Murphy III has stood as a potential fit in the Motor City given his scoring touch and dynamic play style, so he’s a player that would immediately catapult the Pistons from just a contender in the Eastern Conference to potentially the favorite given the youth and talent that would be on the squad.
While it can be difficult to obtain high-level scoring in the NBA without mortgaging the future, it may not be possible for the Pistons to land Murphy this summer, but that does not mean Langdon should not try. In fact, the rarity of a player with Murphy’s ability should behoove Langdon to make an even more aggressive push for the Virginia product who averaged 21.5 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.8 assists a season ago. Since the Pistons still own all of their future first round draft picks for the next seven years, Detroit has the type of assets that could convince the Pelicans to part ways with the 6-8 wing, the only question is whether or not they’ll be aggressive enough to do so.
Last season, New Orleans finished with a 26-56 record and fell well short of the playoffs, so the Pelicans may be in a position to build for the future and target a window that would exceed Murphy’s time in the Big Easy. The Pistons have the draft capital that the Pelicans would covet, so on paper this is a deal that Detroit should be able to get over the finish line.
If Langdon is able to bring Murphy to Detroit, that move would solidify the Pistons’ offseason as one of the most impactful in recent memory.
For more information on the latest Detroit Pistons team or player news, follow @EricJRutter on X for continued basketball coverage, but while you’re here, join Pistons Roundtable for FREE and become a contributing member to our community today. Also be sure to look up Roundtable - Michigan Men Media on Facebook for continued social media coverage of all the sporting teams in the Mitten.
