One of the hottest topics in Raptor land since the Kawhi Leonard trade was made official has been RJ Barrett’s future with the team. With him in the final year of his contract and the obvious question mark about his fit with this new-look team, some fans believe we could see Barrett dealt before the deadline. If that happens, the obvious trade target for the Raptors has to be New Orleans Pelicans wing Trey Murphy III.
For some time now, TM3 has been in trade rumors, linked to several teams, but nothing has developed as the Pelicans front office continues to maintain a high asking price.
With the Pelicans already having Herb Jones locked in long-term and recently extending Saddiq Bey, the need for Murphy III feels like the lowest it’s been in years. If the Pelicans’ season doesn’t go the way they hoped, once again you can bet that Joe Dumars will finally be looking to cash in on his top trade asset. If that does happen, Toronto needs to be ready to package Barrett, picks, and whatever else New Orleans wants to land the 6-foot-7 sniper.
TM3 could the final piece for the Raptors
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Because of that, I’ve indulged in a ton of Pelicans basketball the past two seasons, so I feel like I have a really good understanding of what type of value Murphy III can bring. Oftentimes people look at him and say he’s a three-and-D wing, and that’s not overly accurate. Murphy III is more of an athletic, leaping floor spacer who is situationally a strong defender but isn’t the type to muck things up from the point of attack. That skill set is perfect for Toronto because they have Kawhi Leonard, Scottie Barnes, Ja’Kobe Walter, and Collin Murray-Boyles all being high-end defenders.
Murphy III's main objective with Toronto would be to space the floor and score, which is way less taxing than his role with the Pelicans. He doesn’t have to try and be a shot creator or off-the-dribble scorer; he’d get to be an off-ball bucket getter for this Raptors team, which is a role Barrett can’t play effectively. Replacing Barrett’s 33.9 percent clip from three with Murphy III's 37.9 percent clip on nearly eight attempts per game is the type of floor spacing boost this team needs.
On top of that, Murphy III is on one of the best contracts in the league, making $27 million next season, $29 million the year after that, and $31 million the year after that. This is the other pro with targeting Murphy III: in year one of a potential trade, Toronto would save money by swapping him for Barrett.
For Murphy III, it feels like his time in New Orleans has run its course, and a change of scenery would be great for him. With the Raptors, he would still be the team's best floor spacer, but the rest of the roster has much better three-point potential and could lighten his load there compared to the Pelicans.
Although it may cost a lot if the Pelicans are looking to move him and Toronto is ready to push for a championship, they shouldn't target anyone more aggressively than Trey Murphy III.
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