Giannis Antetokounmpo may be drawing all the headlines leading up to next month's NBA Draft, but there's another long-rumored Golden State Warriors target who could finally be on the move in a matter of weeks.
The Warriors have been enamored with Trey Murphy III for quite some time, only for the New Orleans Pelicans to block their approach at every turn. According to notable NBA analyst Bill Simmons though, a Murphy trade might be just around the corner.
Trey Murphy III may be traded soon after long-term Warriors interest
Speaking on his podcast with colleague Zach Lowe in the wake of Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals, Simmons claimed that a Murphy trade was likely to occur in the next three weeks.
“That's another thing is Trey Murphy, we assume he's probably getting a trader over these next three weeks. I think Boston is a possibility. We thought whoever lost this matchup (Spurs-Thunder) was a possibility. There's a couple other teams, but you know, you have two, three weeks to trade for somebody like that," Simmons said.
Unfortunately this doesn't mean that a Murphy-to-Golden State trade is imminent. In fact, the sooner the young forward is dealt, potentially the less likely it's to the Warriors because they don't appear to have the immediate salary-matching means to acquire Murphy.
Draymond Green's $27.6 million player option is a good match, but confirmation of the veteran forward's contract situation likely won't be known until after the draft and either just before or during free agency.
The only other avenue would be Golden State sending Jimmy Butler and picks for Murphy and another sizeable salary from New Orleans, yet it's unlikely that either team would be interested in such a deal.
Trey Murphy III could still come at a steep cost
More problematic is the fact there's going to be rivals with greater assets who are now more eager than the Warriors to obtain Murphy, particularly a team like the Thunder who could outbid just about anyone and may be desperate after their playoff disappointment.
Murphy's five years into his career, has yet to make an All-Star appearance, and has played in two losing playoff series, yet it's still going to take a significant haul to pry him from New Orleans grasp given his age, team-friendly contract and improvement every season.
The 25-year-old averaged 21.5 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.5 steals this past season, shooting 47% from the floor and 37.9% from 3-point range on 8.6 attempts per game.
Murphy would still be a dream addition for the Warriors and their hopes in the short and long-term, but recent reporting suggests the front office isn't so keen on that level of seismic move like they have been in the recent past.
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