The New Orleans Pelicans entered the 2026 offseason with a ton of people expecting that they could finally be ready to sell high on Trey Murphy III. Given his plug-and-play archetype, his upside as a floor spacer, and how incredible his contract is, it was expected that there would be no shortage of teams trying to get into the sweepstakes for TM3. However, nothing ended up materializing, and Jake Madison, host of LockedonPelicans, dropped a nugget as to why Murphy III wasn’t dealt.
Madison joined Yossi Gozlan on a recent episode of the Third Apron Podcast and shared that both the Atlanta Hawks and Detroit Pistons aggressively pursued Murphy III. He noted that the main reason a trade never came about with either team was that New Orleans’ asking price was three to four first-round picks for their 26-year-old wing.
Obviously, I understand that Murphy III is a valuable piece, and just because another team wants your players that doesn’t mean you have to trade them. But cmon on, four first-round picks are we serious? Yeah, I get what the Magic gave up for Desmond Bane last offseason, but that was just not a good trade, and the other teams around the league aren’t looking to repeat that mistake. If the Pelicans get to midseason and are underperforming, Joe Dumars has to swallow his pride and trade Murphy III to the highest bidder.
It's time to lower the asking price
We’ve seen it before when teams hold onto their players because they feel teams around the league aren’t offering them the right value, and then they get stuck. And when they do eventually decide to sell, it backfires, and they get nowhere close to the value they once could’ve gotten.
It would hurt fans to see Murphy III traded and go have great success on his next team and maybe even win a championship because the dream was for him to do that here. But he’s only going to have this high value for a bit longer, and capitalizing on it could set the Pelicans up nicely for a future centered on Jeremiah Fears and Derik Queen. Every season that burns off his contract, the worse his value around the league is going to get.
If New Orleans gets an offer of two decently valuable first-round picks, a young player with upside or that fits next to Fears and DQ, and a salary filler, they should take it. Sure, it may not look great at the start, especially if Murphy III is winning at his next stop, but a player like him is always going to be more valuable on a winner than a bottom feeder.
The window is closing, and it hurts to know that instead of approaching the offseason with a realistic asking price, Joe Dumars decided to play games. Like all Pelicans fans, I’m rooting for a successful, healthy year in 2026-27, but if that doesn’t happen, the franchise has to finally commit to pivoting before they miss their window.
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