The trade that brought Jamal Crawford to the Atlanta Hawks last summer allowed Crawford to finally reach the playoffs after nine seasons of falling short. So now that Crawford has had a taste of the postseason, Troy Murphy becomes the active player with the most games under his belt with no appearances in the playoffs.
In his career, Murphy has played 621 games in nine seasons with the Warriors and Pacers. The Warriors’ lone trip to the playoffs in the last 16 years was when they traded Murphy to Indiana at midseason, which was also the first time in 10 years that the Pacers failed to make the playoffs.
Last week, Murphy was traded again, this time back home to New Jersey. The Nets won 12 games last season, so making the playoffs would be quite a turnaround. With the Nets’ eyes clearly on Carmelo Anthony‘s situation in Denver (and Murphy having an expiring contract), it’s possible that the hometown hero won’t be staying long.
Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News has the story…
For Murphy, 30, who was introduced Thursday as the Nets’ biggest acquisition of the offseason, the speculations are “part of the business.” But they’re also logical suggestions.
With the Nets as one of the teams in the mix for Anthony, Murphy and his $12 million salary would likely be part of a deal. It’s not something Nets GM Billy King would – or could – confirm, but Murphy’s expiring contract is one of the enticing assets the Nets can offer the Nuggets, as well as 10 draft picks in the next three years and three valuable players (point guard Devin Harris, power forward Derrick Favors and center Brook Lopez).
“There’s not a lot of long-term contracts, there’s cap space to allow things to happen,” King said when asked about the maneuverability of his team. “It’s a great situation to be in.
“We have flexibility. Having flexibility allows you to do a lot of different things – whether it’s this year, next year or down the road.”
Will Murphy finally make the playoffs in New Jersey? Or perhaps in Denver?
John Schuhmann is a staff writer for NBA.com. Send him an e-mail or follow him on twitter.
look 4 the nets to unload some good young talent , murphy and a pick or 2 for Melo. if not melo look for the nets to trade for CP3 instead and the nets land melo in offseason. i think ull end up seeing those 2 together in NJ rather then new york. murphy wont b in nj by next year though. bank on that
Carmelo Anthony, Kenyon Martin, Aaron Afflalo and Renaldo Balkman from the Denver Nuggets to the New Jersey Nets for Brook Lopez, Devin Harris, Derrick Favors and Anthony Morrow… Does the math work?
no it doesn’t work! Why would nj trade their top 2 young players their number 3 pick and a guy they traded for his energy and shooting. Melo is obviously the best player in the deal but nj wouldn’t want anyone else other then him… MAYBE aaron affalo. K mar is getting older and more injured. hes not the old kmart that was with jason kidd and could catch the lobs half way up to the ceiling.
That doesn’t make any sense
Honestly, I hope melo and paul don’t end up playing together anywhere. All of this talk about superstars joining forces is bad for the league.
Maybe hold out for the end of the season, sign melo and resign murphys 10n10 numbers for a fraction of his contract now, hed be a good starter or bench player. and btw JEEEEZZZZZ that nose…..
who is troy murphy???