The Los Angeles Lakers spent the summer chasing wing help and came up short on several names they liked, including Peyton Watson and Jonathan Kuminga.
That leaves the door cracked for a player the front office has circled for years: Trey Murphy III of the New Orleans Pelicans.
Murphy is 26 and entering the heart of his prime on a franchise that still has not settled on a clear direction, which is why his name keeps surfacing in trade conversations even after earlier talks went nowhere.
What makes Murphy attractive is not mystery. Last season he averaged 21.5 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.8 assists while shooting 47 percent from the field, 37.9 percent from three and 88.6 percent from the line in 66 games.
He is in the second year of a $112 million contract and will make about $27 million this season, a number that looks reasonable relative to the production.
Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report ranked him among the league’s top trade targets heading into 2026-27 and explained the appeal this way:
“We’re talking trade value, and that’s where Murphy has the edge on just about anyone conceivably connected to the market,” Buckley wrote. “He is 26 years old, he fills a coveted role (a three-and-D wing with more scoring punch than the label implies) and he is, relatively speaking, affordable ($87 million for the next three seasons).”
Buckley added that any bidding “could be ferocious” because “He might not be a star—he isn’t much of a playmaker or shot-creator—but he is a rock-solid support piece who is efficient and effective in his role.”
Those traits line up with what the Lakers still need beside Luka Doncic. Los Angeles has been thin on wings who can space the floor, defend and finish plays without demanding the ball.
Murphy has been on their radar for a long time, yet New Orleans has so far refused to lower its price.
Reports indicate the Pelicans have sought three first-round picks plus a young player they can keep as part of their core. That package is steep, and neither the Lakers nor the Golden State Warriors have been willing to meet it so far.
The encouraging part for Los Angeles is simply that Murphy has not been taken off the market.
If New Orleans grows more flexible as the season unfolds and the asking price softens, the Lakers would have a chance to add a player who fits their timeline and their roster holes.
Whether they can assemble enough assets without gutting future flexibility remains the open question, but the mere fact that the conversation has not died is a better sign than the franchise received on several other targets this offseason.
