Trey Murphy might have played his last game in a Pelicans uniform.
After an incredibly disappointing season that saw New Orleans slip towards the bottom of the Western Conference, the aging and talented Murphy seems to no longer fit the timeline of the Pels.
As the 2026 NBA Draft looms large, Murphy has been mocked to many teams, including the Hawks, possessing one vital asset that no other contender for Murphy has hold of.
Pelicans' long line of suitors include Atlanta
The Hawks are one of many teams interested in the universal plug-and-play archetype that Trey Murphy fits very cleanly into.
According to Mike Scotto, the list of interested teams include the following: the Warriors, Pistons, Pacers, Hawks, Trail Blazers, Spurs, and Lakers.
Atlanta has already been incredibly active this offseason, and threatens to get three moves on the board before many teams even have a chance to make their first.
Having already extended CJ McCollum to an incredibly team-friendly deal and traded for the young, talented Aaron Wiggins for pennies on the dollar, it seems rival GMs are playing a game of catch-up.
As it happens, the very asset that Atlanta is dangling in front of New Orleans is part of quite arguably the largest blunder they've made in the Zion Williamson era.
Trading Trey could be the end of a catastrophic blunder for the Pelicans
The Pelicans, of course, traded their unprotected 2026 first round pick to the Hawks as a part of the Asa Newell/Derik Queen pick swap in the 2025 NBA Draft.
Unfortunately, the pick - which happened to not simply be the Pelicans' first, but the better of the two New Orleans and Milwaukee picks - did not jump into the top 4. Nearly a coinflip as far as the odds went, New Orleans got lucky that they didn't surrender one of Caleb Wilson, Cam Boozer, Darryn Peterson, or AJ Dybantsa to Atlanta.
While the 8th pick isn't one of these superstar-level prospects, it's still an incredibly deep class - Atlanta has been mocked taking one of Kingston Flemings, Mikel Brown Jr., Aday Mara, or even Keaton Wagler should he slip down the board a bit.
New Orleans has reportedly been enamored with adding one of these youngsters to their squad - and not at a cheap price. They'd need to give up Murphy, a stud long rumored to be on the move from New Orleans.
Ending their saga of blunders with Atlanta by giving up Murphy would surely sting for the Pelicans, but at least it'd be over at last. Adding Murphy would skyrocket Atlanta into immediate contention for a deep playoff run, and give New Orleans a head start at a much-needed rebuild.
Let's see what happens on draft night - it's going to be a fun evening, Hawks fans.
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