Dejounte Murray enters the New Orleans Pelicans’ next season with a lot still to prove, and the cleanest path to making a real difference may be the simplest one: take better care of the basketball.
That matters now more than ever as the Pelicans get ready for year one under new head coach Jamahl Mosley, who inherits a roster crowded with guards and wings and plenty of rotation questions to sort out. Murray, heading into his third season in New Orleans, remains one of the key pieces in that puzzle even though he is still, in some ways, learning how to mesh with his teammates.
New Orleans brought him in during the summer of 2024, sending out Dyson Daniels, Larry Nance Jr., E.J. Liddell, and two first-round picks.
The hope was that Murray would give the offense another high-level creator. Instead, his time with the Pelicans has been interrupted almost from the start.
His first season in New Orleans got derailed on opening night when he fractured his left hand. He missed several weeks, came back in late November, and then suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon in January that wiped out the rest of that season and most of the next one. By the time he returned late last season, he looked close to his old self again.
Still, the turnover issue keeps hanging over him.
Over the last two seasons, Murray has averaged 3.4 turnovers per game, the highest on the Pelicans in that span and one of the highest marks in the league. Because he didn’t play enough games to qualify, the number wouldn’t have officially placed him there, but if it had, he would have been tied for seventh in the NBA. For New Orleans, those giveaways have mattered.
The Pelicans have struggled badly in tight finishes. The season before Murray arrived, they didn’t win a single game when trailing after three quarters.
Last season, New Orleans went 12-30 in 42 clutch games, and a big part of that came down to not controlling the ball. In the final five minutes of regulation or overtime, the Pelicans’ turnover percentage was nearly 15%.
Some of that happened while Murray was still working back from injury, but the numbers still point in the same direction. Before joining New Orleans, his worst turnover average was 2.6 in his final season with the Atlanta Hawks.
That’s the trade-off with Murray. He’s a high-usage guard, and last season his usage rate was a tick above 29%, so the ball is going to be in his hands a lot.
That naturally raises the risk of mistakes. But if the Pelicans want to clean up the mess in late-game situations, he has to do a better job protecting the ball.
At 29, Murray is one of the older players on the roster, which only adds to the importance of how he handles those possessions. If he sets the tone by playing with control, it can steady the offense and help the younger players get cleaner looks when the game tightens up.
He also remains a natural fit as a creator in the pick-and-roll and from the midrange, where his ability to get to his spots is a big part of his value. Those are exactly the areas where turnovers can turn into easy points the other way, especially when guards are able to get downhill for dunks and layups.
The good news for New Orleans is that Murray now gets a full offseason without the burden of rehab. That grind is behind him, and this summer is about building chemistry and settling into the group around him.
His name has already surfaced in trade rumors because of his $32 million salary this season, but for now the Pelicans appear willing to keep him and let him help run the offense.
That puts a lot on this season for Murray. If he can get back to the efficient form he showed before arriving in New Orleans, the Pelicans give themselves a much better shot at winning close games and pushing past expectations.
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