Renowned podcaster Bill Simmons recently named the Boston Celtics as a potential trade partner for the New Orleans Pelicans to acquire Trey Murphy III, as he believes that the team is not really interested in joining the Giannis Antetokounmpo sweepstakes.
“We assume (Trey Murphy) is probably going to get traded over the next three weeks. I think Boston is a possibility. We thought whoever lost this matchup was a possibility. There’s a couple other teams. But, you have two to three weeks to trade for someone like that,” Simmons said on his podcast.
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Murphy is coming off the best season of his NBA career and has developed into one of the league’s top two-way forwards. The 25-year-old averaged 21.5 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 1.5 steals on 47/38/89 shooting splits across 66 regular-season starts.
However, Murphy is entering the second season of his four-year, $112 million contract extension. Considering what the Boston Celtics have done in the past few months to free up some cap space, they would likely have to give up some of their key players and capital to make the New Orleans Pelicans consider a potential trade.
Apr 3, 2026; Sacramento, California, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Trey Murphy III (25) during the second quarter against the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn ImagesBoston Celtics reporter urges team to acquire two star centers this offseason
Following their stunning first-round collapse against the Philadelphia 76ers, Boston Celtics writer Zack Cox believes that the team should pursue Isaiah Hartenstein and Jarrett Allen this summer to beef up their frontcourt significantly.
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“It will be interesting to see how the Thunder and Cleveland Cavaliers approach this offseason after bowing out in the conference finals,” Cox stated in his Boston Herald column. “Both have established, starting-caliber big men (Hartenstein and Jarrett Allen, respectively) who could be Celtics targets if either becomes available.”
“Hartenstein is the more intriguing of the two. He has a $28.5 million team option for next season, and OKC could be looking to shed salary as big-money extensions for Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams kick in. Allen is under contract for three more seasons and is set to make $28 million in 2026-27,” he added.