Teams have called the New Orleans Pelicans about Trey Murphy and Herb Jones as the club weighs whether it can trade back into the first round of the NBA draft. Joe Dumars said he is open to listening on anything that comes across his desk, but the calls about Murphy and Jones have not come close to producing a deal.
The timing matters because the draft is Tuesday and Wednesday in Brooklyn, New York, and New Orleans still does not have a first-round pick. The Pelicans gave up that pick last year when they moved from No. 23 to No. 13 and selected Derik Queen, a move Dumars later said could be viewed as getting a first-rounder a year early.
Dumars has already signaled that he would not rule out using another move to get back into the first round. Two days after the season ended in April, he said the Pelicans could make a trade to recover a first-round choice this year, and on Tuesday, May 26, 2026, he repeated the same basic message during Jamahl Mosley’s introductory news conference at the Pelicans’ practice facility in Metairie.
“When you’re where we are, you have to be open to everything,” Dumars said. “And that’s where I am. I am open to whatever comes across my desk.” He added that he does not think the club can close off any possibility right now, especially for a team that has finished with less than 30 wins in each of the past two seasons. That record is why draft-night maneuvering carries extra weight for New Orleans, which is trying to turn roster pieces into a faster path forward.
Still, openness is not the same as urgency. Dumars said the Pelicans have not changed their view on Zion Williamson and would love to see Jamahl Mosley coach him, but the trade calls around Murphy and Jones have not yet risen to the point where New Orleans has to act. That leaves the Pelicans with a narrow lane: wait for a deal that makes sense, or enter the draft without a first-round pick and hope the board gives them another way in.
