Are the Pelicans Making a Mistake by Not Trading Trey Murphy?

The New Orleans Pelicans have yet to make a move this offseason. They remain the only team in the league not to make a trade or a free agent signing so far this summer. At this point, it's almost impressive how willing and adamant the front office is in retaining a core that won 26 games last season.

The lack of urgency and aggression by Joe Dumars and Troy Weaver certainly deserves to be criticized. There were plenty of moves the Pelicans should have pursued, but they have seemingly decided against them. But does this extend to every player on the roster? Did the Pelicans make a mistake by not trading Trey Murphy this summer?

As it's often the case for most reasonable questions, the answer is, 'it depends."

If the Pelicans had solid offers for Murphy that they could kickstart their rebuild, then they should have accepted one of these offers. This means that any trade that landed them multiple first-round picks and an interesting young player would have been a solid return.

Will Pelicans Regret Not Trading Trey Murphy This Summer?

The reporting over the summer suggested that the Pelicans were looking for three first-round picks. As of now, we don't know whether they had an offer around that asking price.

Perhaps more important than the number of picks is the upside of these picks. Are three first-rounders really that valuable if they come from the Pistons over the next five seasons? Probably none of these picks would have significant lottery upside. Two first-round picks that have a good chance of being in the lottery may be more valuable than three from a contender.

It's difficult to imagine that the Pelicans wouldn't have such an offer for a 26-year-old forward who fits seamlessly everywhere and is on a team-friendly contract. This would be especially surprising because of the reporting that there were a handful of teams interested in Murphy all summer.

If the offers were not satisfactory, we can't blame the Pelicans front office for holding onto Murphy. His trade value should remain high, and they could always move him at the deadline or next offseason. He is a very good player on a favorable contract, so their unwillingness to move him just to move him is understandable.

Reading between the lines in reporting around the league, however, it seems like teams thought that the Pelicans' asking price was too high. If there were indeed offers that included two or three first-round picks with some upside and a good young player, and the Pelicans turned them down, this should be considered a mistake.

For a team as bad as the Pelicans have been over the last two seasons, they are shockingly asset-poor. They have no extra first-round picks and owe more second-rounders than they are owed. That is why they need to be in asset accumulation mode. That is also why trading any of their valuable veterans for a solid asset return should be on the table.

If it's not, then add this to the long list of questionable decision-making by the Dumars & Weaver regime.

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