Report: Warriors' Trade Pursuit of $112M Wing Has 'Gained Momentum'

The Golden State Warriors have had interest in trading for Trey Murphy III for months, but the Pelicans' price point had always been too high for serious discussions.

That might be changing now.

ClutchPoints' Brett Siegel reported that the Warriors' pursuit of Murphy has "gained momentum in the last day," but he added that they won't overpay for him.

There have been lots of rumors that the Pelicans are interested in trading for a 2026 lottery pick. HoopsHype's Michael Scotto wrote that they could be after Tennessee wing Nate Ament.

The Pelicans would want more than just one lottery pick for Murphy. But if they are in love with a 2026 prospect, maybe they would decrease their trade demand to just one other first-round pick.

That's a price the Warriors should meet.

Trading for Murphy Would Be Complicated

There are three ways for the Warriors to trade for Murphy.

The first would involve Draymond Green exercising his $27.7 player option as the perfect salary-matching piece for Murphy. The problem is Green hasn't done that yet, and he might wait until the June 29 deadline to make that decision.

What the Warriors could do is draft the player the Pelicans want, wait for Green to opt in and then make the trade.

This is a dangerous plan because the Warriors presumably don't know if Green will opt in. If he opts out with the hope of signing a multiyear contract, he won't be trade-eligible for months.

And in that scenario, the trade framework would be killed, and the Warriors might be stuck with the player they took for the Pels.

The second trade involves giving up Jimmy Butler for Murphy and Dejounte Murray.

Murray is coming off two injury-riddled seasons, so the Warriors would have to decide whether they want to take him on for two years (player option in 2027-28) at $63.5 million.

But there's no denying that Murray has value when healthy. He struggles to shoot from the perimeter, but he's a talented scorer in the paint as well as a solid passer and defender.

The third trade involves using the No. 11 pick's salary as part of the trade. The Warriors would have to trade Moses Moody ($12.5 million) and Brandin Podziemski ($5.7 million), and then the trade would only become official after the No. 11 pick signs for his rookie-scale contract of $6.1 million.

That's enough outgoing salary for the Warriors to get Murphy.

Murphy Could Have Other Lottery Suitors

If the Pelicans are serious about trading Murphy for a 2026 lottery pick, the Hawks pose as a big threat to the Warriors.

The Hawks have the eighth pick, so if the Pelicans are afraid that who they want won't make it to 11, they should try to deal with Atlanta.

In a strange twist of fate, the Hawks could offer Jonathan Kuminga as matching salary for Murphy. If the Warriors had kept Kuminga at the 2026 trade deadline, they could have used Kuminga as the trade salary for Murphy now.

It's also possible the Thunder make a push for Murphy.

The Thunder have the 12th and 17th picks. They could trade both of them to move into the top 10 and then give that pick up for Murphy.

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