The Dejounte Murray that the New Orleans Pelicans have had so far is not the player that the team wanted when they traded for him last year. The question is, will they ever get the guy they wanted?
Back in 2024, the Pelicans traded a haul of Dyson Daniels, E.J. Liddell, Larry Nance Jr., Cody Zeller and two first round picks to the Atlanta Hawks for Murray.
That's a lot to give up and is a sign that they likely won't give up on him after just one rough campaign, even if there is different leadership in the building now.
Taking it back just two years, Murray was playing at a near All-Star level. He averaged 22.5 points, 6.4 assists, 5.3 rebounds and 1.4 steals per night. He was another defensive ace and playmaker to add to a New Orleans team that felt stuck in the mud offensively at times.
What ended up actually happening, was that the 28-year-old played a career-low 31 games due to injury. Even when he was on the court, he wasn't able to do enough alone to push the team to winning basketball.
The Pelicans moved him back to point guard, which is where he was an All-Defensive second-team player and All-Star with the San Antonio Spurs before going to the Hawks.
In 31 games last year, he averaged 17.5 points per game with 7.4 assists, 6.5 rounds and two steals. The biggest issue is that he shot just .393/.299/.823 on the year. If he could turn his efficiency up, and in turn his points, he could be exactly what New Orleans needs.
As with many questions that the Pelicans face, this could also just go back to needing Zion Williamson to stay healthy. This new duo only played six games together last season. It was a small sample size, but them together looked promising.
In those six games, Murray had 21 points, 6.8 assists and 5.8 rebounds with 1.8 steals. He got more open looks and shot a more efficient .417/.378/.806. This is the player that New Orleans desperately needs.
In the 25 games without Williamson, the guard averaged 16.6 points with 7.5 rebounds and 6.6 assists. He shot .387/.271/.830 and was a -224 on the year.
So no, it's not too late for Murray to get back into star form with the Pelicans. The team just needs to be able to run the system they had it mind with the players that built it around staying healthy.