The New Orleans Pelicans might not be in competition for a postseason berth in the 2024-25 NBA season, but they still have plenty left to play for in the remaining games of the year. The team and its fans are surely looking forward to the offseason, when they'll find out where they'll land in the NBA Draft lottery and can make further trades and free agent signings to round out their roster, but there's still plenty of work to do in the 24 games still left.
At the trade deadline this season, the Pelicans finally gave up on their star pairing of Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram. This breakup was a long time coming, but it was also accelerated by New Orleans's contract disputes with BI and his camp over a possible extension. His new expiring deal wasn't the only motivator that helped the Pels' cut bait though.
While it wasn't explicitly stated, New Orleans probably found it a lot easier to trade Ingram after Trey Murphy III showed that he's ready to take over as a second star next to Zion Williamson this season. The team might be having a disastrous season overall, but TMIII has put together the best year of his career so far and has been one of the most improved players in the NBA. The prospect of the Pelicans' new one-two punch with Zion and Trey Murphy III is definitely enticing, but it's been more successful on paper than on the court so far.
The Pelicans have to find a way to maximize the Zion Williamson and Trey Murphy III pairing
In theory, the pairing of Zion Williamson with Trey Murphy III makes perfect sense. Murphy III has the outside shooting touch necessary to keep opposing defenses from loading up on Zion. Inversely, Big Z has the ability to penetrate the paint consistently, draw extra defenders, and create open shots for a sniper like Trigger Trey.
Murphy III this season has shown in the past that he doesn't need the ball in his hands to succeed but has proved that he can create his own shot when needed, which should make him a perfect second option for someone like Williamson. Trey also has the size and athleticism necessary to be an impactful defender both on and off the ball, which should mitigate Zion's shortcomings on that end of the court.
Despite how well the two should fit together on paper, that just hasn't been the case for the Pelicans this season. According to Cleaning the Glass (subscription required), New Orleans actually has a negative net rating of -1.7 in the 567 possessions that Zion and Murphy III have shared the court this season.
This might not seem like a big deal, considering that the Pelicans have been a very negative team overall this season, but it's definitely a little concerning, especially considering that Zion has a +3.5 net rating in 610 possessions without Murphy III in the lineup this season.
Perhaps the two just need more reps together now that Trey has stepped into a larger role. It's interesting that Williamson has played more possessions without Murphy III on the court than with him when Trey's been one of the healthiest players for the Pelicans this year. Whatever the case, New Orleans and Head Coach Willie Green only have a handful of games left to figure this out this season. Next year, they'll be expected to dominate their minutes together from day one.