NEW ORLEANS — Trey Murphy III’s first road game in the NBA was unlike anything he had ever experienced.
His road debut came against the Chicago Bulls at United Center — the arena with the highest capacity in the NBA. That night — Oct. 22, 2021 — the attendance was 20,995. The former first-round pick had rarely played before a crowd that large.
Growing up, Murphy was used to playing in smaller venues with sparse crowds as a relative unknown in high school. It was mostly the same during his two years at Rice. After transferring to Virginia as a junior, he generally played in empty gyms because of COVID-19 restrictions.
“My adrenaline was through the roof,” Murphy said. “I couldn’t stop moving while I was on the bench.”
It’s impossible to appreciate Murphy’s progression heading into his fourth season without understanding how far he had to go when he first stepped into the league.
He’ll readily admit he wasn’t ready to contribute on the big stage as a rookie. The game was moving too fast. The physicality was too big of an adjustment. He’s joked on multiple occasions that he used to “run around like a chicken with my head cut off,” trying to figure out where he should be on defensive possessions.
During some of those difficult days, it was tough to envision a future where he’d sign a four-year, $112 million contract extension, but that day arrived Monday. Murphy is now a 6-foot-9 wing with elite athleticism and elite outside shooting ability — a skill set that’s worth its weight in gold in today’s NBA.
Done Deal ✍️
Congrats @TreyMurphy 👏 pic.twitter.com/m0O93jQpLY
— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) October 21, 2024
His progression over the last three years has been one of the biggest success stories for this franchise under David Griffin’s leadership as executive vice president of basketball operations. Murphy’s enormous potential during his ascension made it an easy decision for New Orleans to lock him into a long-term deal that’ll secure him as an essential piece of the foundation being built around Zion Williamson.
“Trey is a key component to our team. … We love what he brings to this group on the basketball floor,” Pelicans coach Willie Green said Monday. “He’s one of the pillars of our organization for this young team.”
As much as this extension should be a moment to celebrate for Murphy and the Pelicans, it also confirms the uncomfortable truth that’s been hanging over this team since the summer: The Pelicans are building a future that almost certainly will not include former All-Star forward Brandon Ingram.
Ingram, 27, is entering the final year of his current contract and is set to hit unrestricted free agency next summer. He’s played a crucial role on and off the court as the leader of the rebuild that’s led New Orleans to this point under Green.
However, after adding this new extension to the books, the Pelicans will have Murphy, Williamson, Herb Jones and Dejounte Murray under contract for at least the next three seasons. All four are under 30, and their games should fit well together. The Pelicans have put themselves in a great position to have their core in place while also maintaining some financial flexibility.
Meanwhile, with the contracts they have on the books, the Pelicans should be around $27 million below the projected luxury tax threshold going into the 2025-26 season. That leaves them without much room to fill in a few key spots to complete the roster.
It certainly doesn’t leave them much wiggle room to consider a new contract with Ingram that’s anywhere near the four-year, $207.8 million extension he’ll be eligible to sign up until he hits free agency.
Perhaps New Orleans can play out the string and see how this current roster fits with the perimeter talent it has assembled. Having three former All-Stars (Ingram, Williamson and Murray) to go along with Murphy, Jones and CJ McCollum is an embarrassment of riches any coach could appreciate. But when there’s a clear disconnect between the current build of the team and what the team hopes to become in the future, it can be a little tricky.
While Green hasn’t made an official announcement yet, the expectation is he will be starting Murray, McCollum, Ingram, Jones and Williamson together on opening night against the Bulls. Murphy will be sidelined to start the season with a hamstring injury he suffered earlier this month, but even if he had been healthy, it is unlikely he would have started.
The Pelicans would prefer to stick with their small-ball lineup as much as possible, but Green has said there will be certain nights when he moves one of the reserve centers (most likely Daniel Theis) into the starting unit to give his team a better chance against bigger centers.
This means Green will be going into the season with what some may consider a “starting six” that’ll shift based on matchup, and the guy they just agreed to pay $112 million probably isn’t among those top six.
“I absolutely think I’m a starter in the NBA. It’s not up to me, but whatever happens, I’m going to be OK,” Murphy said at Pelicans media day on Sept. 30. “It’s happened in the past when I felt like I could’ve and should’ve started. I’ve come off the bench and still figured out ways to contribute and help win. That’s the biggest thing for me, helping my team win.”
This is an issue Green will have to manage all season from an on-court perspective and from a personality standpoint in the locker room. While the Pelicans have been a tight-knit group the past few seasons, things always get complicated when money and playing time get involved.
There’s already been a bubbling tension over the last few years among fans who are firm believers in “Start Murphy by any means necessary,” and those who don’t mind using him as a super-sub. The patient approach was a bit more understandable when Murphy was an up-and-comer who still needed time to grow and was on a rookie contract. But he’s no longer the 21-year-old swingman who came into the league four seasons ago. He’s grown into an elite role role player who’s displayed flashes of greatness when given enough runway to truly test his limits.
Through his first three seasons, he’s made 442 3-pointers while shooting 39.2 percent from distance. Over the last two seasons, New Orleans is 20-14 in games Williamson and Murphy started together. In those matchups, Murphy averaged 14.6 points and 5.4 rebounds while shooting 43 percent from the floor and 39 percent from distance. In many ways, Murphy is the prototype of the perfect complementary piece to put next to Williamson.
“He can shoot it from the parking lot,” Pelicans guard Jordan Hawkins said of Murphy. “He has a really quick release. You don’t see that too often for a tall guy like him. … He’s a very versatile shooter.”
On the other hand, Ingram, when locked in, is an accomplished offensive force. His combination of scoring and shot creation brings an element that this team currently lacks outside of Williamson — even when Murray is playing well. If Ingram fulfills his promise to alter his shot profile and attempt more 3-pointers this season, it could make a major difference in this team’s success running half-court offense.
But ultimately, is it worth leaning into Ingram’s success if it comes at the cost of giving Murphy the freedom — and playing time — he needs to continue his growth?
When he is healthy, Murphy could take McCollum’s place in the small-ball starting unit, but it would lead to the Pels’ bench being flooded with smaller guards. Would it make sense to have McCollum, Jose Alvarado and Hawkins coming off the bench? Probably not.
At its core, the most sensible thing for this team to do is prioritize its four biggest long-term investments (Williamson, Murray, Murphy and Jones) and give them as much time on the floor together as possible. The Pelicans could still accomplish this by mixing and matching Murphy’s minutes off the bench with the other three, but it’s much easier to maximize those minutes with Murphy in the starting lineup.
With Murray coming in to add a new element to the team, getting those four to build up their chemistry on and off the court should be at the top of the priority list for this franchise. This team’s destiny will be determined by how far those four guys can take them.
In the end, the Ingram situation will be a complicated one as long as he’s still on the roster. But the bigger goal in mind for New Orleans should be giving Murphy every opportunity to show just how high his ceiling can be so the team can have a greater understanding of what life will look like once Ingram is gone. Allowing that kind of talent to walk without a clear Plan B can be scary.
Murray is a talented point guard who has been an All-Star in the past, but it’s unclear how good this team will be once he takes over full-time as the No. 2 option. Is a Williamson-Murray combination good enough to compete with the likes of Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving? Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren? Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr.?
The talent from top to bottom in the West is absurd. Building a team around one superstar and a bunch of role players is an easy way to get a one-way ticket to the lottery. Making any noise in the West requires at least two All-Star caliber players. Competing for the title probably requires three or more.
The Pelicans feel strongly that Murray can return to his All-Star form now that he’s back in a role that fits him. But the development that could change the trajectory of this organization is Murphy taking another step in his game. When he’s playing at his best, he looks like a future All-Star, or close enough.
He’s recorded 15 games with 25-plus points. In 2022-23, he became the youngest player in NBA history to shoot 60-plus percent on 2-pointers, 40-plus percent on 3-pointers and 90-plus percent on free throws. He also has two games with 10-plus 3-pointers in his career. The only other players to pull that off since 2021 are Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Damian Lillard.
That’s some elite company to be in if you’re an up-and-coming shooter.
Can Murphy become the All-Star that helps put the Pelicans over the top as a true contender in the West? There have been signs that he may be one day. But having him spend another year on the bench instead of getting a clear answer to that question seems like a waste.
(Photo: Sarah Stier / Getty Images)
