4 Trey Murphy Landing Spots if Pelicans Finally Cave In and Trade Him

The New Orleans Pelicans are expected to be active in the offseason, but whether that would include trading Trey Murphy remains unclear. There have been several conflicting reports about the Pelicans' intentions when it comes to the 25-year-old small forward.

On one hand, Murphy is arguably the Pelicans' best player, and if they are serious about taking a step forward next season, they need Murphy. On the other hand, he has the most trade value on the team, and the Pelicans don't have other ways to significantly improve the roster.

Turning Murphy into future assets and using those as trade chips to add to the team makes some sense, but it could be easier said than done. One has to assume, however, that if the Pelicans receive a strong enough offer for Murphy, trading him will almost certainly be on the table.

What would the landscape look like for Murphy? Which teams are natural landing spots?

Detroit Pistons

There has been smoke around the Murphy-to-Pistons rumors for a while. The Pistons desperately need more shooting and offensive firepower, and they have the resources to trade for him.

Detroit controls all of its future first-round picks and has the 21st-overall pick in this year's draft. They have intriguing players they could use as the matching salary. A trade package built around Isaiah Stewart, Ron Holland, and multiple first-round picks could certainly be of interest to the Pelicans.

Indiana Pacers

Another Eastern Conference contender that may think of themselves as a Trey Murphy away from a title is the Indiana Pacers. They took a gap year in Tyrese Haliburton's absence, but ended up with nothing to show for it after losing their lottery pick to the Clippers as part of the Ivica Zubac trade. This may force the front office to be aggressive in the trade market.

Indiana still has future first-rounders that they can trade, as well as good players on team-friendly contracts. Andrew Nembhard, Obi Toppin, Aaron Nesmith, and TJ McConnell are all trade chips the Pacers can use in this trade, which should intrigue the Pelicans.

Portland Trail Blazers

All signs are pointing towards Portland being aggressive in the offseason. The new ownership wants to make a big splash, and Murphy could be an appealing name because of his age, upside, and fit.

The Blazers will want to trade Jerami Grant and his $34.2 million salary in any big move. If the Pelicans take him on, they would need significant draft compensation. Otherwise, the Pels could try to get Shaedon Sharpe or Scoot Henderson back in the deal.

Portland has pick swap rights with Milwaukee in 2028 and 2030. If they are willing to part ways with those for Murphy, it could be very appealing for the Pelicans, since the Bucks aren't going anywhere anytime soon in the post-Giannis Antetokounmpo era.

Oklahoma City Thunder

The Thunder have more future assets than they know what to do with. They have two first-round picks in this year's draft and have an additional incoming pick in each of the next four drafts after that. They have a ton of very good, tradable young players like Cason Wallace, Jared McCain, and Jaylin Williams. They also have young prospects like Thomas Sorber and Nikola Topic in the pipeline.

At the same time, OKC is projected to have the highest payroll in the league next year. They are way above the second apron, so they will face some pressure to shed some salary. That is why they may prioritize good players on team-friendly deals. And Murphy is as good a contract as there is in the NBA.

Murphy fits seamlessly in OKC and fills a clear need as an elite shooter. There are too many trade package combinations here to go through all of them, but the Thunder can beat out any trade offer out there for the Pelicans star.

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