The New Orleans Pelicans are less than a week away from the NBA Draft, and everything appears to be trending downward. First, it was a report from ESPN’s Anthony Slater that the Golden State Warriors are once again interested in Trey Murphy III. That was followed by reports from Jake Fischer that the Pelicans are no longer steering teams away from trading for Murphy III, and the Warriors remain interested. He also reported that New Orleans is interested in Tennessee’s Nate Ament as a trade-up target.
When you connect the dots, there is reason to believe a Murphy III trade to Golden State could be coming ahead or on draft night. I’ve said it before, I'll say it again: I am pro-trading Murphy III if it nets a return that helps round out the roster and brings in more assets for the future, but that’s not what the Warriors offer.
Now that we know Ament is a target for the Pelicans' front office, any trade with the Warriors would likely be made to land the Tennessee forward. In no world should that even be considered, and if it does, it will be another Joe Dumars and Troy Weaver disaster-class.
The Warriors are the wrong Trey Murphy III suitor
These two reports have left fans beyond confused, as throughout the early stages of the offseason, Dumars has preached that this team isn’t far off from being a competitor out West. So then, why trade arguably your best, if not second-best, player for the opportunity to draft a raw wing prospect whose ceiling is Trey Murphy III? It makes no sense.
If you’re a rebuilding team, you want a player like Ament. Based on what we’ve heard and what Dumars has said, that’s not the path the Pelicans plan on taking.
We saw last offseason when the Pelicans traded for Derik Queen on draft night and then entered the season trying to compete, but it didn't work out. The issue with that is New Orleans tried to play two timelines, and if there is one sports league in the world where that approach doesn’t work, it’s the NBA.
The biggest value a player like Murphy III brings to the Pelicans is that he can fit any path they decide to head down. He’s 26 years old and just averaged 21.5 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game while shooting 37.9 percent from three. So whether you want to win now or rebuild, he can be a good long-term piece to continue to let grow and build around. Which is why dumping him off for the chance to take a swing at Ament is not a smart move.
This summer, Trey Murphy III has the potential to be one of the league's sought-after trade chips. He has great size, can space the floor, is athletic, defends, and can be a plug-and-play for any team in need of wing help. Settling for a likely offer of Brandin Podziemski, Moses Moody, a chance at drafting Nate Ament, and some future draft capital would be very poor management of assets by the Pels. Whether it’s entering a rebuild or trying to compete, if the Pelicans want to move Murphy III in either of those scenarios, a deal with the Warriors isn’t the right one.
