3 young scoring guards Raptors could add at trade deadline
By Mike Luciano
2. Trey Murphy III, New Orleans Pelicans
While Murphy has emerged as a player who regularly starts for a contending Pelicans team, they could easily be willing to move the 6-9 guard/forward hybrid along with some draft capital in exchange for a game-changer that can slide into the rotation. Murphy seems like an ideal Raptors player from a physical standpoint.
Murphy is averaging 12.7 points per game while just making just under 42% of his 3-pointers. With the Raptors now the worst team in the league in terms of 3-point percentage, any young player that can come in and stroke it is going to be a valuable asset.
The Toronto Raptors need a shooter like Trey Murphy III.
The Raptors will likely remake the roster, but there is no indication that the Ujiri regime is going to upend their switchable scheme completely. If they’re sticking with this philosophy, Murphy’s height and energy will make him a perimeter piece worth developing for Toronto.
New Orleans’ Anthony Davis trade windfall gives them more assets to trade than most contenders. If they add one of the Raptors’ starters to the lineup at the expense of a package headlined by Murphy and multiple first-round picks, both franchises could be better positioned for a future run.