NBA Trade Rumors: 2 Pelicans Front & Center as NBA Trade Season Nears

The New Orleans Pelicans are set to have a major impact on the trade season, despite their league-worst 4-22 record. There are two players that are front and center, in great demand. Sam Amick explains in The Athletic:

Players like Trey Murphy III and Herbert Jones are expected to draw major interest from contending teams.

In fact, Amick goes on to tell us just exactly who will be the primary suitors for each.

"For quite some time now, the (Golden State) Warriors have been open about their desire to acquire the Pelicans’ Trey Murphy III."

A big, athletic, 3-and-D wing, Murphy stands 6'8", and in addition to hitting threes at a 38% clip and hauling down a career-best 6.4 rebounds this season, he is again scoring at a 21.2 points per game pace. He would make a sensational third option behind Steph Curry and Jimmy Butler.

Lakers are targeting the Pelicans' defensive stalwart Herbert Jones

As for Jones, Amick's compadre at The Athletic, Dan Woike explained which team is pushing hardest for him:

"The player most often linked to the LA Lakers as a target by rival scouts and executives is New Orleans wing Herbert Jones, who cannot be traded until Jan. 14 because he signed a three-year extension with the Pelicans in July."

Jones is an elite, versatile defender who can guard all five positions, and was named to the NBA's All-Defensive First Team just two seasons ago. This is just what the doctor ordered for the Lakers.

However, as Woike notes, the Lakers simply don't have the players or draft capital to entice the Pels to come off their disinterest in trading the 6'7" forward.

Despite their woeful season to date, the Pelicans still have some sought-after trade assets, and they will be a team to watch, with the trade deadline less than two months away.