The New Orleans Pelicans feel like they've been stuck in the mud for years, but the development of one player might be enough to get them moving in the right direction again.
Everyone has fun watching Trey Murphy III hit the court, but just how good he was last season seems overshadowed by his missing stretches of both the beginning and end of the campaign.
The former Virginia Cavaliers standout was selected with the No. 17 overall pick in the 2021 NBA draft. He started out as an exciting spark plug sniper, but has quickly become a potential superstar.
Murphy still missed almost 30 games last season, but he looked elite when he stepped on the court. It was quite a step forward from the few years before.
In 53 games, Murphy posted 21.2 points per night with 5.1 rebounds and 3.5 assists. He hasn't been exactly as efficient from beyond the arc as he was a few years ago, but the uptick in production is worth it.
Those stats put him in some intriguing company from last year. Jalen Williams, Kawhi Leonard and RJ Barrett are all wings who scored between 21 and 22 points per night. All of those players have much higher usage rates than Murphy.
The Pelicans forward had usage rates closer to Kyle Kuzma, Malaki Branham and John Collins. Giving Murphy the respect and role he has earned could yield another All-NBA caliber player for New Orleans.
He just recently turned 25 years old and the Pelicans have him on lock through 2028. His cap hit is raising drastically this offseason and so should his involvement in the offense.
An underrated part of his game that grew as the season went on was his playmaking. He had around 4.7 assists per night in January and February, and those were also his highest personal scoring months.
The offense should look a little bit less predictable in swapping out CJ McCollum for Jordan Poole and seeing Dejounte Murray finally get the chance to implement himself in the system. That's another opening for Murphy to take advantage of.
There has been a lot of change this offseason, but head coach Willie Green knows and trusts Murphy. All signs point to a breakout campaign for the wing.
He's now getting paid on the level of players like Khris Middleton, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Andrew Wiggins. That could be just what New Orleans needs to take another step as a team, pairing him with Williamson rather than blowing everything up.