The Pistons might be set with their roster for now, but they're always in the market for marginal upgrades and Bennedict Mathurin might have just unlocked the biggest one. His recent signing with the Pelicans puts New Orleans over the luxury tax line unless they start to shed some salary. For years, Trey Murphy III has been rumored as an ideal fit on the Pistons and it might finally be time to see the move happen.
The Pelicans have every reason to trade Murphy
Signing Mathurin is yet another sign of the Pelicans taking a step back to rebuild further. Mathurin is clearly not a winning player right now, but a talented driver with potential to grow into something noteworthy. In the meantime, the Pelicans should be looking to get trade value for players like Murphy, who are heading into the prime of their careers and have complimentary skillsets valued by contenders.
Murphy would be a great fit in Detroit because his age and skills line up with what the Pistons need. He's not a star on his own by any means, but is elite at finishing plays either at the 3-point line or the rim. His defense is also solid, even great at times, making him an even better target for Detroit than some bigger names with questionable fits.
New Orleans has been hesitant to trade Murphy in the past despite receiving offers for him because they want to extract as much value as possible. However, Mathurin's signing is starting the clock on shedding more salary because it puts the Pelicans at risk of paying luxury tax for a bad roster. Their owner likely won't be too pleased about paying extra for a team that has practically no chance to even make the playoffs. In fact, they remain one of only two teams that hasn't paid any luxury tax at all since 2002.
The Pistons have a trade framework that makes sense
The other half of the equation is what Detroit can give back for Murphy. As of now, it's hard for the Pistons to put together a workable deal considering the restrictions on trading certain players. But on December 15th, more players will open up who are trade eligible and give the Pistons some options.
The leading trade candidates to bring in Murphy are Duncan Robinson and Kevin Huerter. Robinson is on a non-guaranteed contract, which should give him more trade value for the Pelicans or another third team. And Huerter can be matching salary to make the deal work.
Sending out these players wouldn't sacrifice the Pistons' core defensive identity and it would bring back a player in Murphy who plays the same position. The Pelicans might ask for some more draft capital to sweeten the deal, but that should be an acceptable price for the Pistons as long as it's not too much. A couple second-round picks or even a first-rounder in a year the Pistons expect to have a low pick is worth giving up for Murphy.
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