The Golden State Warriors may have just battled against the San Antonio Spurs twice in the past 72 hours, but they could also be fighting with them on the trade market when it comes closer to the mid-season deadline.
The Spurs have already been identified as a potential destination for Trey Murphy III should the New Orleans Pelicans make him available. Both they and the Warriors expressed interesting in the 25-year-old during the offseason, but that was at a time where the Pelicans were optimistic about their outlook as a potential playoff contender in the Western Conference.
Spurs could steal Trey Murphy III from the Warriors' grasp
That optimism has faded quickly through the first few weeks of the season, with New Orleans now 2-10 following Friday's 118-104 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. There's a big watch now on what the Pelicans do from a trade standpoint, particularly surrounding Murphy and his availability.
The Warriors will certainly have interest in Murphy should he be remotely available, but so too should the Spurs according to Kevin O'Connor of Yahoo Sports.
“I think Trey Murphy is a perfect example. And in part for San Antonio, it would just be a very easy trade to make. Like you could give up Harrison Barnes for Trey Murphy, one for one to match salaries," O'Connor said recently on his podcast. "And then you just stack on assets, whether picks or youth on top of that to meet whatever threshold it is that the Pelicans front office would desire for Trey Murphy. And by the way, I mean, if I'm the Pelicans, I prefer to keep Trey Murphy. But at the same time, like there's a line for he's not an untouchable.”
Even after back-to-back losses to Golden State and Stephen Curry's brilliance, San Antonio are still 8-4 on the season and look like a team that are closer to contention than what many would have envisioned going into the season. They also have the young players and a host of draft capital to throw the Pelicans way to try and accelate their timeline even further.
It's not all bad news for the Warriors though if they get into some kind of bidding war with the Spurs. Golden State's future first-round picks, especially those beyond Stephen Curry's 40th birthday, are far more valuable compared to San Antonio's considering Victor Wembanyama is just 21-years-old.
Murphy was the big positive for the Pelicans in Friday's loss, dropping 35 points and six rebounds on 13-of-21 shooting from the floor. After a slow start through the first week or two of the season, Murphy is now averaging 19.8 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.4 assists on 35.6% shooting from 3-point range.