The New Orleans Pelicans have been a trainwreck so far on the 2025-26 NBA season, currently sitting at 5-22 despite a recent road win over the Chicago Bulls. The Pelicans were not expected to be a contender coming into this season, but few could have envisioned the team being this atrocious, especially considering they do not control their 2026 first round pick thanks to a disastrous draft night trade with the Atlanta Hawks.
With this being the case, many view the Pelicans as being sellers heading into the trade deadline, and recently, Sam Amick of The Athletic reported on how a trade could be facilitated between New Orleans and the Golden State Warriors.
“For quite some time now, the Warriors have been open about their desire to acquire the Pelicans’ Trey Murphy III. But if they’re going to use (Jonathan) Kuminga to do that, then it would be helpful to know how, if at all, the Pelicans value the Warriors’ 23-year-old forward. For the time being, the feedback is mixed on that front. ’Tis the season for smokescreens, after all,” reported Amick.
Chris Dodson and Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints also noted that the Warriors could be a suitor for Pelicans wing Herb Jones.
Amick also noted that “These past six weeks have not been kind when it comes to Kuminga’s value. After the first six games of the season when Kuminga was receiving rave reviews, he has returned to the rollercoaster existence that embodied the vast majority of his first four seasons.”
Kuminga has received multiple DNP-coaches decisions over the last couple of weeks, which, as Amick noted, surely does not help his potential value on the trade market.
Many expected Kuminga to be on the move over the summer before he and the Warriors finally came to terms on a short-term contract solution.
In any case, as the Pelicans' season continues to flounder, expect these trade talks to grow even louder as the deadline creeps up.
