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The Pelicans have been mentioned at various points this offseason as a potential Ja Morant trade suitor, but The Stein Line has been advised that New Orleans has no plans to pursue Memphis' very available guard. The Pelicans, as one source put it, drafted Jeremiah Fears this time last year to be their point guard of the future. Thus they are not, we're told, plotting any sort of run at Morant. New Orleans, however, does continue to receive significant external trade interest in Murphy and Herb Jones, although league sources say that the Pels have also continued to maintain high thresholds for both players. In each case, sources say, New Orleans is asking for multiple first-round draft picks to part with them.
Fullcourtpass: The Pelicans have maintained an asking price of MULTIPLE first-round picks for Trey Murphy or Herb Jones, per @JakeLFischer 6-12 teams have inquired about trading for them
Shams Charania: "You definitely have to look at a couple players in New Orleans, Trey Murphy, Herb Jones. Those are two players that have gotten a ton of interest in the marketplace. A lot of people are keeping an eye and monitoring the Kawhi Leonard situation with the Clippers. He's got one year left on his deal. We don't know how that's going to play out with the Clippers. There's no urgency there, they've been through this with Kawhi before where they're entering the last year of his deal."
As well as building out his front office and finding that Lewin type, Graham has a coaching search to conduct as well as an NBA Draft to prepare for. The lottery is on Sunday, and the Bulls currently sit at Nos. 9 and 15 in the first round. Talent evaluation has been a strength for Graham, credited for the likes of Herb Jones and Trey Murphy III while he was in New Orleans, but also showing an ability to get off of players from a cap standpoint, moving Trae Young while Graham was in Atlanta last season. The good news for the 39-year-old? Besides multiple first-round picks in a loaded 2026 class, he’ll have a league-high $58 million in cap space this summer.
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Analysts often point out that your impact does not show up in the box score. What is one unseen play or defensive rotation you made in the last month that you are most proud of that a casual fan might miss? Draymond Green: Those happen all the time. I had a few of them the other night against the Pelicans. Herb Jones drove left and had a layup but I came and flew by to make him alter it and he threw it under the rim. I got a block on Zion where I came down from the top to get the ball and a couple of plays on Zion where I was able to come help Moses Moody. For me, I am always trying to put out a fire. If I see a fire on the court, I try to put the fire out and there are quite a few of those moments.
Some rival executives are hearing that the Lakers remain willing to move their 2031 or 2032 first-round pick for the right wing. The problem is, that player doesn’t appear to be available, at least at that price point. The Lakers had conversations with New Orleans earlier this season about Herbert Jones and were told the Pelicans intended to keep him. The price for Trey Murphy III, another favorite of some in the Lakers’ organization, was even higher.
Still, sources around the league have said the message they get from the Pelicans is they believe they have a playoff roster they just need the right combination of coaching and development to unlock it. What bums me out about this is that Herb Jones and Trey Murphy would be phenomenal on a lot of teams. If you add Murphy to Detroit and pair him with Cade and Ausar, you have a devastating 1-2-3 combo of defense and shooting. If you move Herb Jones to the Lakers, LA starts to look a lot more legit.
The Los Angeles Lakers have gauged the trade market looking for 3-and-D wing help, with targets ranging from Herb Jones to Andrew Wiggins to Jonathan Kuminga to Saddiq Bey, etcetera. With that in mind, the Lakers have dangled the expiring contracts of Rui Hachimura ($18.26 million), Gabe Vincent ($11.5 million), and Maxi Kleber ($11 million) on the trade market, league sources told HoopsHype.
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According to some of those NBA folks, the names that have been attached to the Lakers as potential trade targets are Dallas’ Naji Marshall, a former Doncic teammate, Cleveland’s De’Andre Hunter, Minnesota’s Donte DiVincenzo and Sacramento’s Keon Ellis. New Orleans’ Troy Murphy III and Herbert Jones are two players the Lakers have shown some interest in — as have many other teams — but NBA people say the asking price is so high that teams are waiting to see if that comes down by the deadline next week.
What would it take to get the Pelicans to relent on their off-cited resistance to trading either Trey Murphy III or Herb Jones? I've heard this one from multiple teams lately: They would want a Desmond Bane-type offer.
The Pelicans have upgraded Herb Jones (right ankle sprain) to available for Friday’s game against Memphis.
As for DeMar DeRozan, while he has been cited as a possible replacement In the wake of the Warriors losing Jimmy Butler for the season with a torn ACL on Monday night, a Kings source indicated the Warriors have shown no interest in the 36-year-old guard. As has been widely reported, Golden State’s strong interest in New Orleans’ Trey Murphy III most certainly remains. It’s just a matter of whether New Orleans will change its current stance and do a deal on that front. (The same applies to the Pelicans’ Herb Jones.)
