Herb Jones is More Sensible Trade Target For Blazers Than Pelicans Teammate

The Portland Trail Blazers started the 2025-26 season with promise, but they've quickly regressed to the team most expected after head coach Chauncey Billups was suspended for connections to an illegal gambling ring and Tiago Splitter stepped in on short notice.

Embracing the tank wouldn't be the worst idea with a young core featuring promising recent lottery picks like Scoot Henderson, Donovan Clingan, and Yang Hansen. Still, between Deni Avdija, Shaedon Sharpe, Jerami Grant, Jrue Holiday, and Toumani Camara, there's enough win-now talent, actively trying to win right now, to justify making a trade splash and trying to win for the first time since the 2023 Damian Lillard trade.

The New Orleans Pelicans front office may have just given them a sign. Per Jake Fischer, "New Orleans is now starting to listen and at least show some willingness to listen on Herb Jones and Trey Murphy."

"Those guys are going to have a lot of interest around the league. They're both on very strong long-term contracts that are considered relatively team-friendly. Under $30 million in average annual value, which is a big threshold in this current market," Fischer added during an appearance on a Bleacher Report livestream.

As Rip City Project's Reese Kunz notes, "Jones doesn't possess the same upside, but would likely be more easily attainable and could be a more realistic option as another great fit for Portland."

That makes Jones a much more sensible addition than Murphy, since Portland is better off being safe than sorry in any remotely aggressive move.

Herb Jones Makes More Sense Than Trey Murphy For Blazers

Murphy is an explosive scorer who needs the ball in his hands more than someone like Jones, who does the most damage creating chaos in passing lanes and on-ball defensively, and as a roll-man/slasher on the offensive end.

Avdija and Sharpe already do plenty of shot-hunting, combining for 34 shot attempts per game. It's hard to see where Murphy's 15+ attempts per game fit into that. Also, not that personnel decisions should be made with marketability at the forefront, but the Pelicans have been a pitifully attended franchise during Murphy's rise to the top of New Orleans' totem pole.

Jones is a more intriguing niche-role piece for Portland in their current state. Packaging Kris Murray, Matisse Thybulle, and enough draft considerations for the Pelicans' liking is a lot easier a path than whatever it'd take to land Murphy.