Why doesn’t Trey Murphy III play over Garrett Temple?

The New Orleans Pelicans are at the bottom of the Western Conference with their best player out with injury, so why isn’t Trey Murphy III playing more?

This is exactly the type of season where you want to get your first-round pick plenty of developmental reps, yet Murphy has mostly been glued to the bench of late in favor of 35-year-old Garrett Temple, a journeyman veteran who is not part of the future plans.

It’s not just that Temple has played more, but he’s been terrible, as the Pelicans are an astounding -185 when Temple is in the lineup and +5 when he sits.

With the Pelicans’ offense struggling mightily to generate points, you’d think Murphy III’s shooting would offer a boost, but he’s played sparingly lately and has even taken a trip to the G-League, while Temple has solidified himself in the nine-man rotation.

What gives here?

Trey Murphy III should be playing for the New Orleans Pelicans

I thought that after his strong performance in Summer League and preseason, Trey Murphy III would thrive in New Orleans and have a chance to be an impact rookie.

So far that has not happened, even though Murphy III is shooting 37.8 percent from long range, precisely what he was drafted to do.

It’s been difficult for him to get into a rhythm being yanked in and out of the lineup, and though I’ve loved the Willie Green era so far in New Orleans, this one doesn’t make sense, as Murphy III might be able to help this dreadful offense or at least be better than Temple.

Temple has an offensive rating of 101.1 which is terrible and a defensive rating of 120.2, which is the worst on the team.

Murphy III by comparison has a 102.3 offensive rating and a 109.1 defensive rating, which happens to be the best on the team. These numbers have been compiled in just 376 total minutes, but TM3 is clearly better than Temple by just about any measure.

Hopefully this latest stint in the G-League will be his last, as Murphy III deserves a chance to play and Temple should probably be relegated to “veteran leader” status on the bench.