The Pelicans Paid Their Sixth Man $55.5 Million — Now What About Trey Murphy III?

The New Orleans Pelicans' quietest offseason in recent memory got a jolt on September 17, when the team agreed to a three-year, $55.5 million extension with forward Saddiq Bey. On its own, it is a sensible deal: Bey averaged 17.7 points and 5.5 rebounds across 72 games last season, a career year that came on the heels of a successful comeback from an ACL tear. Paying a durable, productive wing in his prime is rarely a mistake.

But the timing and the downstream effects are what make this the Pelicans' story of the week — and arguably the most revealing move of their entire summer.

Bey's deal signals his role, and locks him in place

Reporting around the extension suggests Bey is ticketed for the sixth-man role in year one of the Jamahl Mosley era. That is a meaningful commitment for a team that won 26 games a season ago, and it also removes flexibility: because of the extension, Bey cannot be traded for six months. The Pelicans did not just add a rotation piece; they took a trade chip off the board until roughly the midpoint of the season.

That matters because the name dominating New Orleans trade chatter is not Bey — it is Trey Murphy III.

The Murphy situation is the real storyline

Murphy was the Pelicans' most productive player in 2025-26, averaging 21.5 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.5 steals in 35.5 minutes across 66 games, shooting 47.0% from the floor and 37.9% from three. He is, by any measure, a better and more valuable player than the one the Pelicans just extended.

And yet the reporting this week indicates New Orleans set an asking price for Murphy that multiple rival front offices considered unrealistic. The Atlanta Hawks and Detroit Pistons reportedly made runs at him this summer and walked away; Detroit in particular has been characterized as unwilling to meet the Pelicans' demands. Toronto has been floated as a potential suitor if it ever moves RJ Barrett. Meanwhile, the Pelicans' stance on Murphy and Herb Jones has been described as stubborn — with the implied risk that holding too firm means missing a sell-high window entirely.

There is a coherent basketball argument for keeping Murphy. He is 26-ish, under contract, and exactly the kind of two-way wing a retooling roster should build around. But the franchise has now spent an extension on a sixth man while simultaneously shopping a starter-quality scorer — and doing so without adding an external center or addressing the third-guard depth that analysts flagged as a season-long vulnerability.

What it means for the season

The Pelicans are priced as one of the longest shots in the league, tied at 75,000-to-1 championship odds with Memphis, Milwaukee, Chicago and the Clippers, with a win total sitting at 27.5 — barely above last season's 26-56 mark. That is the market's verdict on a roster that largely ran it back under new leadership.

The optimistic path is real: Zion Williamson played 62 games last season and shot 59.98% from the field, Dejounte Murray is finally healthy after a torn Achilles limited him to 14 appearances (16.7 points, 6.4 assists), and Yves Missi's international breakout has validated the decision not to trade for a center.

But the Pelicans finished last season with a -4.5 point differential, allowing 120.0 points per game, and lost assistant coach Ed Flynn to the Knicks this week. Adding a $55.5 million sixth man while leaving Murphy's future unresolved does not change the fundamental math. It just frames it: New Orleans has chosen continuity, and the Murphy question is the one that will define whether that bet pays off or becomes another season of the same.