The New Orleans Pelicans spent the 2026 offseason with Trey Murphy III drawing plenty of interest, but no deal ever came together - and the reported asking price may have been the reason why.
Jake Madison, host of LockedonPelicans, said on a recent episode of the Third Apron Podcast that both the Atlanta Hawks and Detroit Pistons pushed hard to land Murphy III. According to Madison, New Orleans wanted three to four first-round picks for the 26-year-old wing, and that price tag kept trade talks from turning into a move.
That kind of ask explains why the Pelicans ended up holding onto him, but it also raises a bigger question: was the team pricing itself out of the market? Murphy III checks a lot of boxes.
He’s a plug-and-play wing, he can stretch the floor, and his contract makes him even more appealing. That should make him a coveted trade piece.
But three or four first-rounders is a massive haul, and around the league, teams clearly weren’t eager to match it.
There’s a real danger in waiting too long with a player like this. If New Orleans reaches midseason and the season is going sideways, the pressure shifts fast. At that point, Joe Dumars would need to be willing to move Murphy III to the highest bidder rather than keep waiting for a return that may never come.
That’s the trap teams fall into all the time: they hold firm because they believe the market should pay more, then the market cools and the eventual return shrinks. By then, the value they once could have gotten is gone.
For Pelicans fans, the idea of Murphy III thriving somewhere else would sting. The hope was for him to do that in New Orleans. But his value won’t stay this high forever, and moving him could help set up a future built around Jeremiah Fears and Derik Queen.
If the Pelicans get an offer built around two solid first-round picks, a young player who has upside or fits alongside Fears and DQ, and salary filler, that’s the kind of package they should seriously consider. It might not feel great in the moment, especially if Murphy III goes on to succeed elsewhere, but players like him usually become more valuable on winning teams than on ones stuck near the bottom.
The longer this drags on, the harder it gets for New Orleans to get maximum value. And if the 2026-27 season doesn’t go the right way, the franchise will have to finally commit to a pivot before the window closes for good.
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