Dejounte Murray trade is first step in David Griffin’s promised Pelicans transformation

Less than 24 hours after the New Orleans Pelicans were eliminated from the 2024 playoffs, one question left Brandon Ingram stumped longer than usual.

He was asked if New Orleans should focus on a traditional point guard this offseason. After staring at the floor for a few seconds, he gave a short answer:

“It would certainly be helpful,” Ingram said, nodding.

Perhaps, while Ingram was also mulling over his team’s first-round sweep of the Oklahoma City Thunder, he was considering the possibility that pursuing a traditional point guard could mean the end of his time in New Orleans. Since that day, much of the speculation surrounding the Pelicans has focused on Ingram’s future and whether the Pelicans had a chance to trade him for a game-changing point guard to pair with Zion Williamson.

On Friday, just before the start of free agency, the Pelicans made their move for the floor general they’ve been eyeing for some time. They acquired Dejounte Murray from the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for Dyson Daniels, Larry Nance Jr., EJ Liddell and two first-round picks, multiple sources around the league confirmed. The Athletics.

After making the 2022 All-Star team with San Antonio, the 27-year-old Murray has spent the past two seasons in Atlanta, putting up some of the best numbers of his career. But his partnership with Atlanta star Trae Young, one of the NBA’s more ball-dominant point guards, never quite worked out as seamlessly as the Hawks had hoped. After finishing 10 games under .500 last season, it seemed a foregone conclusion that at least one would leave Atlanta this season.

As the newest member of the Pelicans, Murray can once again step in as the full-time lead ballhandler on a roster chock full of scoring options on the perimeter. Murray averaged a career-high 22.5 points last season, along with 5.3 rebounds and 6.4 assists. He also made a career-high 201 three-pointers, which will be a crucial part of him fitting in next to Zion Williamson for the foreseeable future. Murray has been a below-average outside shooter for much of his career, but he made 39.2 percent of his catch-and-shoot 3-pointers last season and has gradually improved that side of his game over time.

Considering how well he played when Young was out of the lineup and the fact that he’s under contract for at least the next three seasons at $82.6 million, Murray would be a steal for the Pelicans. Somehow, they pulled off the deal without involving Ingram.

But that doesn’t mean Ingram’s future with the team is secure. The big question in the wake of this Murray trade is what comes next.

At his end-of-season news conference, Pelicans executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin said changes were needed to ensure New Orleans can keep pace with the long list of playoff contenders in the West.

“In the past, we’ve always been on the side of continuity, and our conclusion was, ‘Let’s see this group healthy.’ I think we’ve seen enough,” he said in April. “I want to be very, very clear: This is not going to be a summer of complacency. It’s time to get better.”

Trading for Murray is a sign that Griffin agrees with those words. Very few teams in the NBA can match the size and speed of a roster that currently consists of Murray, Williamson, Ingram, C.J. McCollum, Herb Jones and Trey Murphy.

As tempting as that mix may be, the roster is unbalanced, and the lack of frontcourt depth after this deal jumps off the page. The only true center left on the roster is Yves Messi, a 19-year-old they drafted on Wednesday. Jonas Valanciunas and Cody Zeller are headed to unrestricted free agency this summer, and Nance is headed to Atlanta. There’s a world where the Pelicans fill their frontcourt void with a few cheap options via the mid-level exception without taxpayer dollars or other minor transactions.

But this Murray deal makes it more likely that the next path is clear: The Pelicans need to find their new starting center by trading either Ingram or McCollum. And Ingram is the far more likely candidate, as he is in the final year of his contract and carries more trade value than McCollum.

Ingram is eligible for a new deal, but the Pelicans have shown little interest in giving him a max contract extension, league sources said. The Athletics. Griffin recently sounded like he was open to signing Ingram.

“Brandon wants to stay here. He believes in what we are building. That’s meaningful to us,” Griffin said Wednesday night. “At the same time, there is a financial reality that we all have to deal with. I think we’re excited about Brandon. We know he’s excited about us. Usually those things yield good results one way or another.”

The reality is that finding the right way to distribute minutes between Ingram, McCollum, Jones and Murphy was difficult enough, and adding Murray to that group all but guarantees that at least one of those players will see significantly less time on the court than they deserve. That’s before we consider the complications of paying McCollum and/or Murphy (over a year) an exorbitant amount of money to come off the bench.

With Atlanta off the list of potential Ingram suitors, are there any teams interested in him that have the right resources to get a deal done? The Murray trade should at least give the Pelicans enough confidence to prioritize a center when making a big swing. Previously, other deal proposals have been complicated by the Pelicans’ need to add a perimeter player and a starting center. Now at least the Pelicans have plugged one of those holes.

Cleveland’s Jarrett Allen remains at the top of the list of candidates. The Pelicans have shown interest in him for years, and keeping Darius Garland out of any potential deals should make it easier for both sides to find common ground. However, league sources say Cleveland may not be interested in giving him the lucrative extension he’s seeking.

Portland’s Deandre Ayton is another interesting option after the Blazers selected UConn center Donovan Clingan in the first round of Wednesday’s draft. It’s hard to imagine the Blazers wanting either Ingram or McCollum, though, so a third team would have to get involved to provide the Blazers with young players to fill out their rebuilding roster. Perhaps Philadelphia, which wants Ingram if it can’t land another star, could facilitate a three-team deal.

Another idea is a deal involving Ingram for Milwaukee’s Brook Lopez and Bobby Portis. This would increase versatility and depth at the center position for New Orleans and Lopez is on an expiring contract. Then again, would Milwaukee want to sign Ingram to a new deal?

The Pelicans could also look at a younger option at the 5 to help with their salary cap situation and give them a long-term solution at the position. Detroit’s Jalen Duren is an intriguing option; Former Pelicans general manager Trajan Langdon is the new executive for the Pistons and has built a strong bond with Ingram over the years. The Pistons could easily absorb Ingram’s contract into their salary cap space and immediately become more competitive, while Duren and Zion would form one of the most physically imposing front courts in the league.

Utah’s Walker Kessler is another name to keep an eye on. He provides the elite rim protection the Pels are desperate for, and this could be a good time to take him as his value appears to be declining.

Another wild-card name to consider is Knicks center Mitchell Robinson, who has been involved in trade rumors with New York in hopes of getting enough salary to re-sign Isaiah Hartenstein this summer. Robinson has been hampered by injuries and may not want to return to New Orleans, where he played high school basketball. But he is expected to make $27 million over the next two seasons and is an elite defender when healthy.

Ultimately, Griffin’s roster transformation is off to a good start with the Murray trade, but far from complete. Making the right move to convert Ingram or McCollum into a quality starting center could push New Orleans into another tier of contenders in the West, but that won’t be easy with so many other moving parts in the league determining who plays. will be available.

Aggression is important this time of year. So is patience.

A few other thoughts on Murray’s offense in New Orleans:

Managing Murray’s fit alongside CJ McCollum will be key to making this deal work for New Orleans. Last season, McCollum made a concerted effort to become more of an off-ball threat, allowing Williamson and Ingram to take on more shot-creation responsibilities. McCollum made a franchise record 239 3-pointers despite playing only 66 games.

The real question is how effective the Pelicans can be on defense when Murray and McCollum are on the court together. Despite some of his physical attributes, Murray’s defensive impact diminished significantly during his two seasons in Atlanta. There are those within the Pelicans’ front office who believe that moving Murray to a situation where he doesn’t have to be a 20-point scorer every night will allow him to improve his all-around game.

Murray’s specialty on defense is creating turnovers by playing in passing lanes, which fits right into the Pelicans’ identity in that department. Over the past three seasons, Murray leads the NBA with 361 steals. Jones is second on that list with 338 steals.

If Murray can regain the focus and physicality he brought to the defense in the past, this could become one of the best defensive units in the league again, even after losing two of their most disruptive pieces in Daniels and Nance .

Part of the Pelicans’ motivation in making this deal was undoubtedly the late-game collapse that cost them so many times last season. New Orleans was 14-15 in games decided by five points or fewer in the final five minutes of the fourth quarter. During clutch situations, the Pelicans ranked 26th in offensive rating and 28th in turnover percentage.

They desperately needed someone to organize the offense and help them get good shots when the game slowed down.

While he may not have a national reputation as a big-shot maker, Murray has been one of the league’s most prolific clutch performers for years. He is the only player in the NBA to finish in the top 15 in clutch points over the past four seasons.

This trade was a direct attempt to address that major deficiency in this group. With the Western Conference being so ultra-competitive from top to bottom, a significant improvement in this area could be the difference between fighting for home-field advantage or a Play-In spot.

Murray’s durability is a key component of this deal that cannot be overlooked. During his two seasons in Atlanta, Murray missed a total of 12 games. With all the injury issues that have derailed the Pelicans team during the Zion era, knowing Murray can be a reliable piece that stays on the court only adds to his value.

(Top photo: Larry Robinson / USA Today)