The Pacers may have left the door cracked on a Trey Murphy III trade in theory, but in practice it looks about as close to shut as it gets.
Indiana’s offseason has mostly settled down after last week’s signing of Kelly Oubre Jr., a move that leaves the Pacers roughly $1.6 million away from the first apron, where they are hard capped. That financial squeeze matters here, because it makes a Murphy deal far more complicated than a simple one-for-one swap.
The latest reporting doesn’t exactly help the case for a blockbuster. Michael Scotto of Hoops Hype recently named several teams still interested in the New Orleans wing, and Indiana was not among them. Scotto also reported that the Pelicans have lowered their asking price from four first-round picks to three.
Then on Monday, July 6, 2026, Shamit Dua of In The N.O. added this: "On the Trey Murphy front, I'm told that while the Pelicans are fielding a steady stream of inbound calls, they have made it clear they'll only listen if they are blown away. Pelicans are content to keep Murphy and are not actively shopping him."
That lines up with what Indiana has been saying all summer. The Pacers have talked up their core seven and made it clear they don’t want to break that group apart. President of Baskebtall Operations Kevin Pritchard said after the NBA Draft Lottery that he wanted to give this group a chance.
The math is where things really fall apart. Before the Oubre Jr. signing, Indiana had more flexibility to absorb salary in a Murphy deal. Now, getting him would require multiple moves just to satisfy the league’s roster rules and stay under the apron.
One path would be to waive Micah Potter’s non-guranateed contract, which would put Indiana about $4.4 million below the first apron. Even then, the Pacers would still need to clear more than $23 million in salary to make the trade legal.
A combination of Obi Toppin’s $15 million salary and Jarace Walker’s $8.4 million salary gets Indiana to $23.4 million, which would make the deal work on paper. But that would leave the Pacers only about $900,000 below the first apron and drop them from 14 players to 12, creating another problem because they’d need to get back to the 14-man minimum.
That’s where the roster puzzle gets even messier. Indiana would have to find another trade to add players back, and because Sheppard’s salary of just over $5 million is too small to bring back enough salary, one of the Pacers’ other core players would have to be involved.
There is a version of the deal that works mathematically: Obi Toppin, T.J. McConnell, and Jarace Walker for Trey Murphy III, Saddiq Bey, and Karlo Matkovic.
In that scenario, Indiana would take back $1.4 million in salary, which fits under the $1.6 million cushion. Potter wouldn’t need to be waived, and the Pacers would stay in roster compliance with a clean player-for-player structure.
But the cost would be brutal on depth. Indiana would still need a three-team deal to replace McConnell and Toppin with a backup point guard and a backup power forward.
That’s why, despite the math being possible, the real-world odds look tiny. Murphy is a terrific player, but getting him would require at least two unprotected first-round picks, two key pieces from Indiana’s core, and more just to make the roster mechanics work. And that’s before even getting into whether New Orleans would actually approve it.
So while the Pacers can technically build a trade for Murphy III, it doesn’t feel like a move they’re set up to make right now. If Indiana truly believed it had a real shot, it probably wouldn’t have signed Kelly Oubre Jr. in free agency.
For now, the more realistic path is a smaller move before the season. A major swing for Murphy III looks like a long shot, and maybe something to revisit only when the NBA Trade Deadline rolls around.
In Other News...
Hunter Dickinson Just Got A Real Chance To Change His Pelicans Future
Hunter Dickinsons path with New Orleans took another small but meaningful step on July 4, when he re-signed a two-way contract and kept his NBA pursuit alive after going undrafted in 2025. Rather than take the overseas route, he stayed in the mix with the Pelicans, giving himself another runway to show he can translate his size and skill into a role at the next level.
His next chance comes in the 2026 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, where the Pelicans will get a fresh look at how far he has come. Defense, conditioning and three-point shooting will all be part of the evaluation, and for Dickinson, every possession matters as he tries to turn a developmental opportunity into something more permanent. [Read more 🡒]
Pelicans Summer League Could Reveal What This New Regime Really Wants
The Summer League in Las Vegas is usually where teams sort through fringe roster hopefuls and recent draft picks, but for the Pelicans it arrives with a little more weight this year. Under new executive vice president Joe Dumars, head coach Jamahl Mosley and assistant God Shammgod, the tournament will serve as an early look at how the new regime wants to evaluate young talent, coach on the fly and shape the next layer of the roster.
Kobe Bufkin and Hunter Dickinson are among the most closely watched names, while Melvin Council Jr., Chris Bell, Christian Shumate, Jalon Moore and Malik Dia are all trying to turn summer minutes into something more permanent. The bigger question is what New Orleans values most in those evaluations, because the mix of two-way and roster battles should tell a lot about the direction this front office wants to take, even if the clearest answer does not come until the games start. [Read more 🡒]
Pelicans Trade Target Could Force A Huge Frontcourt Decision
The Pelicans are weighing a frontcourt move that would bring a very different look to their rotation, one centered on adding a big man who can stretch the floor and protect the rim. For a team trying to balance size, spacing and defensive reliability, that kind of fit is easy to understand, especially when the current roster could use another interior presence who does more than just occupy space near the basket.
Still, the appeal comes with real roster math attached. New Orleans would have to decide how much it is willing to give up to make the numbers work, and there are already questions about whether the player in question gives enough on the glass to justify the investment. The Pelicans have avenues to explore through salary matching and protected draft capital, but any serious pursuit would force them to confront a frontcourt decision that could shape the next few seasons. [Read more 🡒]