Bill Simmons

And he's been pretty up and down all year.

Who knows if that's going to happen this year, right?

Maybe the hand will just be in such a state where he's a little more inconsistent than they need him to be.

But I think you're right about the market for Trey Murphy, which if you are New Orleans...

Yeah, they're not going to be good in the near-term future to make the most of someone like Murphy.

He's also so good and so young that they don't have to trade him.

And so what they should be waiting for, if you're the Pelicans, and to just kind of set the trade machine market, it needs to be an overwhelming offer.

It needs to be something that convinces the Pelicans to give up a player who could be a part of their next core if they just decide to keep him around.

Yes.

And this is kind of what it takes.

It's like an overwhelming amount of picks that make you stop and say, holy shit, like maybe we just have to take this windfall from a team like OKC, even if it means giving the defending champions really like the one kind of knockdown shooter they don't have.

I mean, he might end up in that very overqualified role player who never makes an all-star team kind of category.

That's sort of like where he slots in right now.

And there's a weird, maybe this is just me like overthinking it from OKC's perspective, but there's this thing happening where they are so conservative in their decision making.

I don't see the Thunder making the swing with all of these picks to get another huge high usage star in the door, right?

To change the makeup of their team.

Like that feels antithetical to everything that they're about.

And so if you're not gonna make that move, if you're not gonna package all these picks for a traditional star in the most straightforward sense,

then what are you going to use it for if not overpaying in a deal like this?

Convincing someone to get the exact supporting player who you think can help your team.