The Detroit Pistons have repeatedly been attached to Trey Murphy III in trade speculation, though there have been no reported talks with the Pelicans.
He makes sense on paper, and of all the targets that would take a substantial haul to get, he might come with the least risk given his age and relatively cheap contract. He’d give you most of what Lauri Markkanen or Michael Porter Jr. would give you at half the cost.
But he would cost a significant package to obtain, as the Pelicans have said they have no interest in trading him for anything less than a Desmond Bane-like offer according to recent reports.
TMIII had another big game last night, dropping 27 points in a loss, something he is used to, as the Pels have won just 13 games this season. The Pels are probably worse than they should be, which does put a bit of a microscope on TMIII along with his recent performance, which has been all over the place.
Is Trey Murphy III worth the cost for the Pistons?
I’d have fewer reservations giving up a big haul for TMIII given his contract situation and age. He’s the right age for the timeline and is locked up for three more seasons after this one at a reasonable rate that wouldn’t really interfere with anything else the Pistons had planned.
But you do have to ask how much is too much for a guy who has mostly been putting up empty stats on a bad team, and lately, racking up big scoring numbers against the bottom feeders.
TMII has dropped 34, 32 and 27 points over his last 10 games, which were against the Nets, Grizzlies and Hornets, respectively, three teams that are 26th, 22nd and 19th in defense.
The Pels are tied for next to last in team defense, which also begs the question of how a team with two wings like TMIII and Herb Jones is so bad on defense.
TMIII has shot over 50 percent three times in his last 10 games, but shot 33 percent or less five times, including two duds where he shot in the teens.
This is a small sample size of course, but I’ve watched a lot of TMIII, and he does tend to be all or nothing. Is this the kind of guy you want to give up 3-4 picks to get? It’s questionable.
He makes sense for the Pistons in a lot of ways, but it’s hard to gauge just how good this guy is when he’s toiling on a terrible defensive team that is this bad when they aren’t even trying to tank.
It all depends on the cost when it comes to TMIII, as he is best served as a 2nd or 3rd option on a good team, so the Pistons can’t pay star prices for him.