Trey Murphy Trade Is Still on The Table Despite Pelicans' Quiet Draft Night

The New Orleans Pelicans didn't make the draft-day moves that many were expecting on Tuesday. Instead, they stood pat and watched prospects go off the board one by one. The quiet draft night doesn't mean that the Pelicans will continue to be inactive over the next week. In fact, a Trey Murphy trade is still very much on the table.

Trey Murphy Trade Rumors Aren't Going Anywhere After the NBA Draft

Since the Pelicans were reportedly interested in acquiring a first-round pick in this year's draft, the consensus was that this would happen through a Murphy trade. While this was a likely scenario, with the Nets, Celtics, Pistons, Warriors, and Hawks all reportedly interested in trading for Murphy using their 2026 first-round picks, this isn't the only way the Pelicans would consider moving their sharpshooter.

A Murphy trade and the Pelicans' desire to trade into the draft could be seen as two separate discussions. If anything, the idea of trading Murphy for a rookie and future assets never made too much sense for the Pelicans. Joe Dumars has signaled a desire to get better next season, so this type of trade construction would contradict this plan to be competitive.

Moving Murphy for players who can help the Pelicans win right away is a scenario the Pelicans may have more interest in.

This is obviously easier said than done. Any team trading for Murphy will be in win-now mode. They will not want to give up their own good players in such a deal. So, a three-team deal may be needed in this scenario, which further complicates things.

One aspect that makes this type of trade more likely is the recent reporting that Murphy may want out of New Orleans. The Athletic's Sam Amick reported this on Tuesday in his appearance on a radio hit on KNBR 680's "Murph & Markus. He reportedly said, "It seems pretty clear that he has also signaled a desire to play elsewhere. The market is going to be pretty robust," per NBC Sports Bay Area.

The fact that Amick said this on the radio, but didn't mention it in his column for The Athletic later, raises some questions about its accuracy. Plus, this was said before the draft, teasing that a trade involving a lottery pick is imminent. So, it may be wise to take "Murphy doesn't want to be in New Orleans" with a grain of salt.

At the same time, there is simply too much smoke around Murphy's name to ignore the trade rumors. If the Pelicans find a trade where they get impactful veterans back, in addition to draft capital, one has to assume that they will at least seriously consider it.

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