There's been a lot of uncertainty surrounding the New Orleans Pelicans. Between what direction they're going to take with the current 2024-25 NBA season and which players they want to keep around for the long run, the entire future of the franchise is completely up in the air.
Thankfully, the team is starting to get some clarity. After their latest defeat to the New York Knicks, the Pelicans have dropped to 5-28, currently riding a six-game losing streak. They're now three full games behind the Utah Jazz for the 14th seed in the Western Conference. At this point, their direction for the remainder of the season has been chosen for them. Regardless of what they do before the trade deadline or how they might perform with Zion Williamson back in the mix, there's virtually no chance that New Orleans can avoid the lottery and wind up in the playoffs.
With that in mind, it's imperative that Vice President David Griffin and the rest of the Pelicans' brass lean into the tank and take advantage of this lost campaign. They could just take this season as a gap year and shut down Zion and any other veterans they decide to keep around, use their high draft pick in the summer, and run it back in 2025-26 with essentially the same core plus a blue-chip prospect. Or, they could use this season as an opportunity to fully reset their roster and not only take a new direction for the year but for the future of the franchise as a whole. The Pelicans could and should shift their entire team mentality this season and focus on building around Trey Murphy III moving forward.
Trey Murphy III is ready to take the leap into stardom
The Pelicans' entire season went sideways starting with Trey Murphy III's strained hamstring that he suffered at the top of training camp. From there, the injuries kept mounting and effectively strangled the Pelicans into a tank. Because he was the first New Orleans player to get hurt, he was also one of the first to return, although he came back to a nearly depleted roster.
I thought that Trey Murphy III might have been able to return to a shorthanded and reeling team and grab it by the reins, exploding onto the scene to help turn the Pelicans' season around. Unfortunately, without training camp or preseason, TMIII started slow after he came back. Coupled with all of New Orleans's absences, the team continued to rack up losses.
For a while, it appeared that maybe Murphy III might have been outmatched for his new role as a newly anointed prominent scoring option for the Pelicans. He increased his production for a team that desperately needed offense, but his efficiency suggested that he was overtasked for his capabilities. In his first nine games of the season, he averaged 17.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 2.3 assists while shooting just 39 percent from the field and 31 percent from deep.
It seemed as if he couldn't perform well with all of the extra defensive attention honed on him with Zion, Brandon Ingram, CJ McCollum, and Dejounte Murray all missing time. Since then, though, he's gotten his legs under him and has turned things around.
In his last seven games, he's put up 21.6 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 2.3 assists, this time shooting 52 percent overall and 40 percent from beyond the arc. The Pelicans did get healthier with CJ and Dejounte returning, but Murphy III has looked markedly improved while remaining a focal point of New Orleans's offense.
He's been doing what he's known best for, lighting it up from deep on nearly eight attempts per game in that stretch, but he's also showcased his offensive growth as a slasher and on-ball scorer. He's averaged almost four free throws a night, nearly double his career average of 2.1 attempts, due to his increased aggressiveness in attacking the rim.
TMIII might never be a superstar in the sense that he could be the best player on a championship roster, but he has proved that he has legitimate star potential and has certainly shown that he's capable of more than just being a sixth man and sharpshooting specialist. The Pelicans owe it to themselves to find out exactly how high his ceiling is. To find out, they need to take active steps to ensure that he's performing to his fullest potential.
They dubbed him one of their few untouchables ahead of this season's trade deadline. Griffin and the rest of the front office need to go the extra mile and shed this team's veterans to clear the way for Trey Murphy III to shine.