One of the hottest topics of conversation following the New Orleans Pelicans this offseason has been the discussion around Trey Murphy III’s future. All offseason, there have been conversations surrounding Murphy III and questions about whether New Orleans would entertain selling high on their two-way floor-spacing wing. The rumors have come and gone, and The Athletic's John Hollinger has reignited that chatter, mentioning Murphy III's market could resurface once LeBron James’ next destination becomes clear.
The Murphy III trade discourse is becoming unbelievably annoying, and the Pelicans front office needs to kill the idea of trading him this offseason.
One day he’s being shopped with teams like the Celtics, Hawks, and Warriors linked to him. The next, it’s that his asking price is dropping, and the day after it's he’s staying put. Now, apparently, the door has reopened to him potentially being moved depending on what LeBron decides. The constant flip-flopping and differing reports need to be brought to an end to preserve the relationship between Murphy III and the front office. But also because trading him now wouldn’t net the return the Pelicans could’ve got back at last year's trade deadline or at the start of this offseason.
Waiting is the smartest move New Orleans can make
Coming into the offseason, the eagerness to trade Murphy III made a ton of sense to me.
At the start of every summer in the NBA, more teams than ever are trying to buy and are very aggressive in their pursuit of boosting their title chances going into the following season. When you factor that in, selling high on Murphy III seemed very real and made sense to me considering New Orleans entered the summer with no 2026 first-round pick and won 47 games over the last two seasons. But as time went on, teams showed no interest in paying the high price point Joe Dumars had set, and trading him now isn’t going to change that.
Murphy III is 26 years old, scores at all three levels, is incredibly athletic, and has a plug-and-play style of play all contending teams want on the wing. The idea that reopening the door to trading a player like that after LeBron makes his decision would net anywhere near the value the Pelicans originally hoped to get at the start of the summer is unrealistic.
That desperation around the league for opposing front offices to improve their roster isn’t the same in late July or August as it is in June, and where LeBron signs won’t change that.
I’m not someone who is pro-keeping Murphy III anymore, but that doesn’t mean New Orleans should just give him away, even if he may no longer be a pillar of the Pelicans' future. But being patient and waiting for that desperation or desire for Trey Murphy III around the league to return to trade him is a much smarter play.
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