The New Orleans Pelicans' decision to trade their 2026 first-round pick to acquire Derik Queen at last year's draft was bemusing at the time, and it's only become more painful for the franchise over the past 12 months.
The Golden State Warriors now stand to be the next potentially big winner's of the Queen trade, with the Pelicans' fateful decision potentially re-opening the door for a Trey Murphy III deal in the coming weeks.
Derik Queen trade could lead Pelicans to dealing Trey Murphy III
Despite finishing 11th in the Western Conference with a paltry 26-56 record, the Pelicans don't have a first-round pick in what's considered a loaded draft thanks to the Queen trade. Recent reports suggest they're intent on changing that, and their desperation for a first-rounder could give the Warriors an avenue to finally acquiring Murphy after years of interest in the 25-year-old.
"The Pelicans have clung to him (Murphy) tightly, but league sources said New Orleans has been signaling a desire to jump into the first round of next week's draft. The Warriors have the 11th pick and control of their future firsts," ESPN's Anthony Slater reported on Wednesday.
If the Pelicans had retained what's resulted as the eighth overall pick which now sits with the Atlanta Hawks, they'd likely be far less interested in trading Murphy over the coming weeks. However, there's a clear consensus league wide that the 6'8" wing may be the franchise's only avenue to trading back into the first-round.
Instead of having to trade three or four first-round picks to acquire Murphy, perhaps Golden State's 11th overall pick in this draft is actually valuable enough to New Orleans, along with one future pick, to make a deal happen.
Draymond Green would be required in trade to match salaries
Along with the draft capital, the Warriors would need to come up with the matching salary to bring in Murphy's $27 million deal for next season. That could be more realistic than previously thought too, with Slater also reporting that Draymond Green is likely to opt into his $27.6 million player option.
It may actually reach a point where the Warriors aren't willing to give up Green, pick 11 and another future pick to land Murphy, such is the value held on that lottery pick and the veteran forward's status as a legend of the franchise. Regardless, it's clear a Murphy trade may now be feasible than it has been at any point in the past.
If the Warriors can actually pull off a deal in the coming weeks, we'll surely be able to reflect on the Pelicans' painful Queen trade from 12 months ago as the wheels that set it in motion.
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