The Detroit Pistons and New Orleans Pelicans have plenty of connections and Trajan Langdon would love to make one more with one of his best draft picks, Trey Murphy III.
Langdon is the former GM of the Pelicans, a franchise now being run by Pistons’ legend Joe Dumars, who brought former Detroit GM Troy Weaver with him.
When David Griffin was fired and Joe Dumars was hired, there was instant speculation that his first move would be to trade Zion Williamson, the oft-injured superstar that has been holding the franchise hostage for years.
Dumars quieted some of those rumors by having Zion represent the team at the Draft Lottery, a move that would be strange for a guy you were about to trade.
But then another report came out that claimed everyone in New Orleans was on the table and that the Pelicans would be “gauging the market” for all of their players according to Kevin O’ Connor among others.
As I warn every offseason, you have to take these “rumors” with a grain of salt, as they are often drummed up by agents or unhappy players trying to find a new home. It certainly doesn’t mean the Pels would be willing to trade a guy like Trey Murphy III.
But if they are, the Pistons should be all over it, as TMIII would be an ideal fit and has the kind of contract Detroit could trade for without completely gutting their roster.
Detroit Pistons trade rumors: Trey Murphy III
You’d be hard pressed to find a player who would be a more perfect fit with the Pistons than Trey Murphy III, who was drafted by Langdon et al. with the 17th pick back in 2021. Griffin and Langdon actually moved back in the draft to get TMIII, so this was clearly a great pick by New Orleans.
Another (lesser) connection these two teams have is that I used to cover NOLA and have seen most of Trey Murphy’s games, so I know what he brings.
TMIII is a lethal shooter who is going to give you around 40 percent from 3-point range on high volume. He’s an underrated defender and a guy who doesn’t mind guarding up, so you can play him at the three or four spot, exactly what the Pistons need.
He plays with a little edge, which I like, and is a guy who can absolutely take over a game with his shooting. As he continues to develop, he could the second 20+ ppg scorer the Pistons need next to Cade Cunningham.
He’s the right age, and maybe most importantly, his rookie extension kicks in next season, so he’s locked up for four more seasons at a very reasonable price of $25-31 million. Unlike a guy like Devin Booker, who is making more than double that, the Pistons wouldn’t have to trade away half their roster to match salaries and could still extend their own core.
Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey, Ausar Thompson, Trey Murphy III and Jalen Duren? Yeah, go ahead and inject that into my veins. But is he really available? And what would it take to get him?
Trey Murphy III is probably not getting traded
Joe Dumars has to decide if he wants to try to run it back with some semblance of the same team that just finished near the bottom of the Western Conference, blow up the roster and start over or somewhere in between.
If they are going to try and move players like Zion and/or Dejounte Murray, then they could just start a soft rebuild around TMIII, Herb Jones and whatever they get in the trades.
It’s hard to imagine Dumars wanting to give up a player like Murphy, who is the type of long sniper every team wants.
If TMIII is made available, much of the league will be after him, and the Pelicans would be looking for a ransom, likely in the form of young players and draft picks.
Could the Pistons build a package around Ron Holland II, expiring contracts and a bunch of draft picks? Would they put Jaden Ivey on the table? I would.
Other than Cade and Ausar, I’d make anyone available for TMIII, who is a perfect complementary player for any team and would fill the Pistons’ biggest long-term need.