New NBA Trade Rumors on Trey Murphy III, Herb Jones amid Pelicans Buzz Ahead of Free Agency

The New Orleans Pelicans aren't actively courting offers for forwards Trey Murphy III and Herb Jones, according to The Stein Line's Marc Stein and Jake Fischer.

"Willing to listening to offers for their two in-demand swingmen? True," the NBA insiders reported. "Turning down all those offers to date? Also true."

Stein and Fischer reported the Boston Celtics have been linked with Murphy, but nothing has come of that yet. They added that the Pelicans would've liked to move into the top 10 of the 2026 NBA draft, having traded their pick to the Atlanta Hawks, but were reticent to give up Murphy or Jones without more coming back.

Stein reported back in January that New Orleans set a price tag on Murphy ahead of the 2026 trade deadline. The team wanted a "Desmond Bane-type offer."

The Memphis Grizzlies dealt Bane to the Orlando Magic for 2025 first-round pick Yang Hansen, three more first-rounders and a 2029 first-round pick swap. The fact the Grizzlies also took back Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who had almost $44 million remaining on his contract, is an important component of their draft compensation from that transaction.

The odds of flipping Murphy or Jones for multiple first-round picks got lower thanks to the NBA's new lottery reforms. General managers are likely to prize their own draft capital even more given the wide variance for where those selections could land.

Those reforms also give teams an incentive to take the sure thing and lean on established vets over assuming they can backfill roster vacancies through the draft.

Murphy and Jones are both under team control for multiple seasons. The former isn't a free agent until 2029, and the latter has a player option that could keep him around through 2030.

Neither player is so good he should be considered totally untouchable if a big offer comes along. But the Pelicans are right to place high values on Murphy and Jones that make the likelihood of a trade pretty low.