Sources around the league say Golden State has opened substantive talks with New Orleans about third‑year forward Trey Murphy III, hoping the 6‑foot‑8 sharpshooter will complete a new‑look triumvirate with Stephen Curry and newly acquired Jimmy Butler.

Sources around the league say Golden State has opened substantive talks with New Orleans about third‑year forward Trey Murphy III, hoping the 6‑foot‑8 sharpshooter will complete a new‑look triumvirate with Stephen Curry and newly acquired Jimmy Butler. It is a bold gambit—one that would strip still more depth from an already top‑heavy roster—but insiders insist the Warriors believe Murphy’s two‑way upside is the missing piece that could restore them to genuine title contention. 

Murphy, 24, is coming off a breakout campaign in which he averaged 17.8 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.9 made threes on 40.4 percent shooting from deep while guarding three positions. Those numbers convinced Pelicans executives to lock him into a four‑year, $112 million rookie‑scale extension last October—yet New Orleans’ subsequent slide toward a rebuild has made the franchise surprisingly open to offers, provided the return includes “playoff‑caliber talent, upside youth, and future picks,” according to reporting from Fadeaway World.

Golden State’s top decision‑makers, led by Mike Dunleavy Jr., view Murphy as “the rare wing who fortifies them at both ends” and who projects to age alongside Jonathan Kuminga past Curry’s prime. His skillset checks three boxes that owner Joe Lacob emphasized during exit interviews: athleticism, length on the perimeter, and catch‑and‑shoot reliability.

The Warriors’ offseason already reads like fan fiction. Two weeks ago they stunned the league by landing Jimmy Butler in a three‑team blockbuster with Miami and Chicago, banking on Butler’s playoff shot‑creation and defensive ferocity to complement Curry’s gravity. With Draymond Green expected to remain the emotional bellwether, the front office sees a fleeting, 18‑to‑24‑month window before the repeater‑tax screws tighten further. Adding Murphy would push Golden State into the second‑apron penalty zone, but team sources say Lacob is “comfortable paying a historic tax bill if it puts another banner in the rafters.”

New Orleans, meanwhile, is said to be gauging markets for multiple veterans while stockpiling picks to keep flexibility around Zion Williamson. Murphy is their most coveted non‑star asset, so prying him loose will not be cheap. League executives floated a framework that sends Brandin Podziemski, Moses Moody, recently signed Buddy Hield and two future first‑round selections (2027 unprotected, 2029 top‑four protected) to the Pelicans. The outgoing salaries line up within 115 percent of Murphy’s new deal, satisfying CBA math without triggering the ultra‑punitive third‑apron hard cap.

Curry continues to bend defenses like no other player, but Golden State’s offense stagnated last season when he sat; his 14.7 on/off net‑rating swing was the largest of any volume guard. Butler’s downhill creation and foul‑drawing prowess give the Warriors a Plan B, yet he operates best in pick‑and‑roll clusters inside the arc. Murphy’s value lies in stretching the floor far enough to keep the lane clear for Butler while punishing doubles on Curry.

Floor spacing: Murphy canned 42 percent of his corner threes and 71 percent of his attempts classified as “wide‑open,” per NBA tracking data. Plugging him into the Andrew Wiggins slot forces defenses to choose between blitzing Curry up top, tagging Butler’s slips, or surrendering practice‑level catch‑and‑shoot looks to a 6‑foot‑8 sniper with a 7‑foot wingspan.

Secondary playmaking: Although not a primary ball‑handler, Murphy doubled his assist rate last year (from 1.1 to 2.3 per game) by attacking over‑zealous close‑outs. Kerr’s motion system rewards that quick‑decision ethos.

Defensive plurality: At 214 pounds he is light for a modern power forward, but his lateral agility allows him to guard ones through threes. That lets Green conserve energy for back‑line quarterbacking and spares 37‑year‑old Curry from the most punishing matchups for longer stretches.

The obvious danger is depth erosion. Podziemski blossomed into a connective passer and rebounder, Moody shot 39 percent from distance in limited minutes, and Hield remains one of the league’s fastest trigger men. Shipping all three, plus picks, leaves Steve Kerr relying on minimum‑salary veterans and two‑way players for his ninth and tenth rotation slots.

Cap mechanics add another landmine: once a team crosses the second apron it forfeits access to the midlevel exception, cannot aggregate salaries in trades, and loses the ability to send cash in deals. The Warriors would therefore be locked into their core for at least two seasons—exactly when Curry and Butler approach their late thirties. One rival executive quipped, “If a tendon pops, they’re marooned on that cap island.”

New Orleans also holds leverage. Even in a “fire sale,” the Pelicans can slow‑roll negotiations until February, betting that desperation will juice the offer. Multiple reports link the Lakers and Knicks to Murphy as well, driving up competition for his signature.

Reaction in the Bay Area is split. Social media sentiment metrics (tracked by sports‑data firm SEMrush) show a 57‑to‑43 approval ratio among Warriors fans, with older supporters more willing to sacrifice prospects for a final Curry push. Nationally, television pundits salute the audacity; TNT’s Charles Barkley joked that “Steph’s got a new Splash Nephew.” Player agents, however, whisper that such star stacking in a tax market could hasten the NBA’s next labor showdown.

Multiple sources describe the dialogue as “advanced but not imminent.” The two sides have agreed on Moody’s inclusion; the sticking point is whether Golden State sweetens the package with a 2031 pick‑swap or removes top‑four protections on the 2029 first. A decision is expected before June 27—the night of the NBA draft—because draft picks become mandatory salary slots once selected.

Golden State’s dynasty has always thrived on daring ideas: small‑ball lineups before they were trendy, maxing Kevin Durant in 2016, and now apparently betting the remainder of Curry’s prime on a two‑way wing who has yet to make an All‑Star team. If the Murphy deal materializes, the Warriors will field a trio with a combined 25 All‑Star selections (all but one belonging to Curry or Butler) flanked by two of the era’s smartest defenders in Green and Looney. It is a high‑risk, high‑reward play—one that could either hoist another Larry O’Brien Trophy on Market Street or leave the franchise asset‑strapped through the latter half of the decade.