The Portland Trail Blazers should have an ideal trade target this summer in New Orleans Pelicans rising star Trey Murphy III.
He checks every box Portland should be looking for in its star pursuit this offseason: age, contract, shooting, defense, and positional size. His two-way impact and floor spacing ability make Murphy a seamless fit and the ideal co-star alongside Deni Avdija.
Unfortunately, Blazers fans must temper expectations when it comes to acquiring Murphy. The reality is, he checks every box for every other team in the league, driving up his trade value as a result.
Blazers will have difficulty prying Trey Murphy III from the Pelicans
NBA insider Marc Stein recently mentioned that every team wants Murphy, and the Pelicans may not be eager to trade his team-friendly contract, seeing as they have him on the books for three more seasons at around $30 million annually.
Factors were aligning for Murphy to potentially find his way to Portland. The Blazers were among the teams that previously expressed interest in acquiring him at February's trade deadline, and signs point to revisiting those trade talks this summer.
They have a new owner in Tom Dundon, who claims to be more aggressive than most and is already willing to pull the trigger should the opportunity present itself. They also have a bold GM in Joe Cronin, who has shown a willingness in the past to attach draft picks to land a more established player if they are a good fit for their young core. That was the case with the Avdija deal, and certainly applies to Murphy as well.
Portland is willing and able to land a star of Murphy's caliber, as they have a treasure chest of young assets and draft capital. It just may not be that Murphy is the specific star they come away with this summer.
Blazers' quest for star power will likely have to continue elsewhere
Convincing the Pelicans to part ways with their most important players is another thing entirely. That's already difficult enough as is, but then there's an added layer of Portland having to outbid every other team that wants Murphy (essentially the entire league).
It's increasingly looking like the Blazers will have to add a star who is an imperfect fit this summer. Landing one rising star yet to enter his prime on a team-friendly deal in Avdija was already a miracle in itself. Not to say they shouldn't bother pursuing Murphy -- he should still be at the top of their trade target list this summer. But it's starting to seem unrealistic.
The competition for trade interest surrounding Murphy and New Orleans' reluctance to part ways with him in the first place makes this closer to pipe-dream territory for the Blazers. They could be forced to pivot and continue their star quest elsewhere, which raises the question of whether it's worth sacrificing future assets for an imperfect fit.
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