Advertisement - scroll for more content
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement - scroll for more content
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Saddiq Bey scored 25 points in a reserve role, Jeremiah Fears added 20 points, and the New Orleans Pelicans beat the Atlanta Hawks 121-99 on Saturday night. Zion Williamson and Trey Murphy III each scored 15 for the Pelicans, who lead by 28 en route to their second straight victory after losing their first four games.
Tim MacMahon: If Presti does elect to pursue a deal, multiple executives identified the New Orleans Pelicans as a potential trade partner with defensive stopper Herb Jones or 3-and-D wing Trey Murphy III as possible targets. The Pelicans have set a high asking price for Murphy in recent transaction cycles, making it clear that multiple first-round picks would need to be involved to pique their interest, according to league sources. Presti has a deep war chest of future first-round picks, but that has been true for years. He never engaged in discussions for that type of blockbuster deal while deliberately building this roster. "That's not who they are," one Eastern Conference executive said. "I think they'd rather play their young guys and see what they have."
Marc Stein: "I imagine that Herb Jones's name will be suggested as a dream target. And look again, the Thunder have picks galore to offer because teams have been trying to pilfer for Herb Jones from the Pelicans for ages now. And New Orleans last season basically was telling teams, trade Trey Murphy and Herb Jones if they are not untouchable, it's pretty dang close. You're going to have to offer us three firsts for Trey Murphy or two firsts for Herb Jones."
Marc Stein: Just spoke to a Pelicans official who tells @TheSteinLine that the team has not indicated a willingness to trade Herb Jones. Jones played sparingly in the Pels' first three games. They have maintained a high threshold on trade interest in Trey Murphy III and Jones for months.
As Bobby notes, Oklahoma City's financial situation will make it difficult to trade for another high-salary contributor. The only Thunder players making more than $7.8 million this season are effectively untradeable: Williams, Gilgeous-Alexander, Caruso, Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein. Barring a shocking trade of one of those players -- a swap involving Williams is perhaps feasible in a vacuum if the Thunder want to maximize their championship chances this season, but it seems inconceivable in context -- the Thunder won't be able to match the salaries of potential targets such as Trey Murphy III (New Orleans) or Michael Porter Jr. (Brooklyn). Nor will they be able to replace Williams' rare combination of offense, defense and size.
Advertisement
Trey Murphy III: "I feel like everybody needs a therapist. I really do feel like everybody needs a therapist. There's a lot of things that people go through as a child that they don't unpack fully, and they don't have people to really talk to about that."
Mike Vorkunov: Myles Turner has been elected as a VP on the NBPA Executive Committee. He replaced Garrett Temple, who retired. This is now the full NBPA executive committee: • Fred VanVleet, President • Grant Williams, First Vice President • Mason Plumlee, Secretary-Treasurer • Karl-Anthony Towns, Vice President • Santi Aldama, Vice President • Jaylen Brown, Vice President • Trey Murphy III, Vice President • Myles Turner, Vice President • Gabe Vincent, Vice President
Trey Murphy, Pelicans. Murphy’s contract is not prohibitive (three years, $87 million) and because he is a wing who can play both ways, he has been especially coveted on the market. But the Pelicans have not gotten serious about moving him yet, because he is still only 26 and the team wants to see how the roster comes together. They’ve asked for as much as four-first-round picks, as the Grizzlies got for Desmond Bane, but that price will come down if the Pelicans move him. Western Conference executive: “I think they’d still hold firm on three first-rounders for him. They look at the return for Mikal Bridges (five first-rounders) and Bane and they see Murphy in the same category. But those deals, teams are not going to want to do those going forward. So, a good young rotation player and two first-rounders is probably where you land.”
NBA Trade Machine: Fred VanVleet was part of 4.8% of the trades built on HoopsMatic over the past 24 hours. Of those trades, his top destinations were Minnesota (13.5%), Chicago (11.5%), and San Antonio (7.7%). The most common players sent back for him were Jaden McDaniels (11.5%), Trey Murphy (7.7%), and De'Aaron Fox (5.8%).
“Do you think that game would be at home, if not on national television?” Tyrese Haliburton followed up, as the hosts again agreed. “Do you think that that game would be at New Orleans?” Haliburton added, with a smirk on his face. Haliburton continued after the panel reacted to his questioning. “When I saw the schedule, I was like, ‘Oh wow!” he said. “Shoutout [Pelicans star] Trey Murphy [III], love my boy, Trey. Love New Orleans. But I was shocked to see that.”
Advertisement
Sam Yip: Trey Murphy on why he decided to take on a leadership role with @TheNBPA: I had two great vets that were very instrumental in my basketball career. And they were on the executive board, CJ [McCollum] being the former president. And they were just like, you fit what we would need. For a while, I was just like, I don’t think I’m ready for that. I want to make the main thing the main thing, worry about basketball, worry about getting a good foundation. And Garrett [Temple], it was two people that were trying to nominate me, and I just felt like I was called to do it, so it was my job to answer the call. I think the thing is I’m able to talk to people. I voice my opinions very well, and I look at things very differently than a lot of players. Just mainly because I didn’t know for sure I was going to be in the NBA growing up. I’ve had every role. Like I’ve been the guy that didn’t play my rookie year. I’ve been the guy that just came off the bench. Then the guy has just been a starter, and now I’ve got to point where I’m one of the better players on the team. So I just have different perspectives on different things.
Sam Yip: Trey Murphy on why the @TheNBPA decided to open a practice facility in LA: I really think it was because we had the facility in New York and it did really well. And there’s a lot of guys that are in LA all the time. Having a couple of runs at UCLA on a small court. It doesn’t really have a three-point line—not to talk bad about UCLA at all. But having a place, that’s small, I mean, it’s just the reality of it. It’s not a regulation court. But now here we have a regulation court, we have a weight room. We have a sauna. We have cold tub. We have turf. We have everything here. We literally do not have to go anywhere else to work out, and you also have all the players here in one spot. I had one of my best workouts I’ve had, and I’ve shot it really well because I knew there’s other people watching, and it’s important to have that. It’s like iron sharpening iron.
Perhaps a late-summer deal emerges. The Pels still have their exception money, an open roster spot and $8 million breathing room below the tax line. Chatter about a Trey Murphy trade, while lessened, hasn’t vanished and is one of many potential pieces of league business that could resurface once LeBron James’ next destination becomes clear.