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Jim Eichenhofer: Jamahl Mosley on Herb Jones pairing with Jeremiah Fears in starting backcourt: "(Jones) can play multiple positions, bring the ball up, orchestrate our offense a little bit. He's got such a high basketball IQ that he can play with pretty much anybody out there on the floor."
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.
Oleh Kosel: Jamahl Mosley on Herb Jones’ role, which sounds apt to change soon: “In this moment right now, Herb is the ultimate professional in where he is & finding more time for him is going to be a key priority for me. And I know that as a defensive coach, there’s no way for me to look around it…We talked about doing things in a five-game sample size and seeing what it looks like and where it can be and what we can do, but again, high priority to make sure that we continue to see Herb on the floor more.”
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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.
