The Golden State Warriors have pivoted hard in their offseason planning, with a three-team trade proposal targeting New Orleans Pelicans wing Trey Murphy III now circulating around the league. With LeBron James narrowing his free-agency options away from Golden State, the franchise is recalibrating around Stephen Curry and Draymond Green before the trade market window closes.
John Hollinger of The Athletic reported that rival teams are expected to test the Pelicans’ willingness to move Murphy once the broader superstar market settles. Hollinger wrote that chatter around a Murphy trade has lessened but not vanished, and is among several deals that could resurface once LeBron’s destination becomes clear.
The Three-Team Trade Proposal Breakdown
The trade concept making the rounds would send Brandin Podziemski, Moses Moody, and multiple first-round picks out of Golden State in exchange for Murphy. The proposal structures the return across two destinations, with the Milwaukee Bucks acting as the third party.
- Warriors receive: Trey Murphy III
- Pelicans receive: Moses Moody, Myles Turner, unrestricted 2027 first-round pick (via GSW), 2029 first-round pick (via GSW), and 2031 first-round pick (via GSW)
- Bucks receive: Brandin Podziemski
That is a haul of three first-round picks plus two rotation players leaving Golden State. The price looks steep, but reporting on the proposal frames it as the cost of doing business for a contender operating on Curry’s timeline.
Why Golden State Would Pull The Trigger On Trey Murphy III
Curry is getting older, and Golden State’s championship window narrows with every season that passes. Neither Podziemski nor Moody has established himself as a core piece of Golden State’s long-term identity, which makes both dispensable in a deal of this magnitude.
Murphy is precisely the profile Golden State has been chasing. He thrives as a movement shooter operating off actions, which is exactly what Curry’s system creates. Adding a wing of that caliber next to Curry, Butler, Green and Porzingis would give the Warriors a genuinely potent starting five.
The Pelicans And Bucks Angles In A Trey Murphy Trade
New Orleans has a frontcourt logjam that forced Zion Williamson off the bench last season. If the franchise is pivoting toward a younger core built around Derik Queen and Jeremiah Fears, grabbing three first-round picks from Golden State lets them do that without gutting the present roster entirely.
Accepting those picks would also free the Pelicans to explore moves involving other veterans like Jordan Poole and Dejounte Murray. This isn’t a salary dump. It’s a strategic reset dressed up as a talent trade.
The Bucks’ role is more straightforward. Milwaukee is one of the few teams still flush with cap space, so there’s little downside to onboarding Podziemski. If he develops into a rotation piece, that’s a bonus. If he doesn’t, he hits restricted free agency next year and they move on.
How Realistic Is This Trey Murphy Trade?
The proposal is doing the rounds off the back of Hollinger’s reporting that chatter about a Murphy trade has lessened but not disappeared, and remains one of several pieces of league business that could resurface once LeBron’s next destination becomes clear. Murphy is a recently extended, high-value wing whose market commands significantly more than draft picks alone, per analyst consensus, which is why this package needed to include both rotation players and three firsts to have a chance of working.
The Warriors are in the right conversation for Murphy, but New Orleans has no urgency to move him and can simply let this specific offer sit. Whether this exact structure gets New Orleans to the table is far less certain than the fact that Golden State wants Murphy badly enough to offer it.
