3 New Orleans Pelicans whose role will increase next season
By Mat Issa
Every season is different (at least to some degree) from the one that came before it. That’s the case even if the team itself is largely similar to the one that trotted onto the hardwood in the season prior.
Part of the reason for this is because every year, roles change. Some players develop and take on larger loads, while others are relegated to diminished roles to make way for blossoming stars. In this article, we are going to focus on the former. The players who could very well see a more featured role in this year’s version of the New Orleans Pelicans. So, without further ado, here are three players whose role will increase next season.
3. Trey Murphy III
We’ll start with the most obvious one. Everyone who knows anything about the Pelicans is projecting Trey Murphy III to have a breakout run in 2023-24 (some even view him as someone who could take home the Most Improved Player of the Year award).
And after a brief (hopefully) injury scare, Murphy is back on track to have that breakout campaign. Murphy was a 5.4 PPG scorer in his rookie season. But last season, he leveled up to a 14.5 PPG performer. Look for that number to balloon up near the 20 PPG mark.
With guys like Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram, and CJ McCollum expected to be sharing a large portion of their minutes next to Murphy, expect for the third-year forward to spend the majority of his time as the team’s number one off-ball scorer. And given Murphy’s ability to operate as a sniper or a lob finisher, he should be able to fulfill this assignment perfectly.