The NBA’s constant shuffle has created openings everywhere, and New Orleans believes Trey Murphy III can walk straight through one of them.
While the league keeps spinning through superstar movement and roster turnover, the Pelicans have chosen a different path. Instead of chasing the chaos, they’ve stayed relatively steady around Zion Williamson and, more quietly, around Murphy, whose rise has made him a central piece of what comes next in Louisiana.
Murphy just finished a career season, and the numbers tell the story: 21.5 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game, with shooting splits of 47% from the field, 88% at the line and almost 38% from three. He wasn’t just filling a role, either.
With injuries, inconsistency and even a coaching change around him, he became a primary offensive option. Williamson may still be the biggest name in New Orleans, but Murphy has become just as vital to the team’s direction.
That matters because the All-Star path looks a little more open now than it did a year ago. Murphy didn’t earn his first selection last February, but his 2025-26 production set a clear baseline.
He doesn’t necessarily need a massive leap to get back into the conversation, either. A few more points, a little more production on the glass and as a playmaker, and another near 50-40-90 type season would make it hard to ignore him.
Murphy has also added more muscle this summer, about 20 pounds, which should only help him hold up through the grind. And if the Pelicans can start stacking wins, his case gets even stronger.
“If you don’t win games, you don’t get rewarded with personal accolades,” Murphy III explained. “No matter how well I’m doing, it doesn’t matter because we’re not winning games.”
That part is hard to miss in New Orleans. The Pelicans are still trying to build something that can stick, and the internal hope is that Murphy can become the kind of player who changes the conversation. On a recent episode of the Numbers On The Board podcast, he didn’t hide his ambition.
“I want 30 points per game. That’s clearly what I’m aiming for,” Murphy said.
“But above all, I want to win. I need to get back to the playoffs…I want to return to the playoffs, win games, become an All-Star this season, and reach 30 points.”
That’s the blueprint: score more, win more, and force the league to take notice. If Murphy gets into that scoring-title neighborhood by Christmas, the All-Star buzz will follow. And with LeBron James and Kawhi Leonard no longer in the conference, the door is even wider.
For New Orleans, the bigger picture is obvious. If Murphy can turn this surge into an All-Star nod, it would also help push Williamson into a postseason game for the first time. Inside the building, that may matter even more than the individual honor.
Around the Gulf South, though, the two goals are tied together. A team projected to win fewer than 30 games can use any real momentum it can get, and two All-Stars would bring a jolt of energy to a city hungry for something better.
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Saddiq Bey is the name that stands out as the cleanest trade candidate, even after a career year and a team-friendly contract. New Orleans could look elsewhere, from waiving Jordan Poole to exploring a Jordan Hawkins deal, but moving Bey makes the most sense if the goal is both making room for Mathurin and adding draft capital. The question is whether the Pelicans will act on that logic quickly, or let the logjam linger a little longer. [Read more 🡒]
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The larger picture around New Orleans looks more encouraging, too, with Zion Williamson focused on offseason fitness, Trey Murphy III adding muscle ahead of what he hopes becomes an All-Star season, and Herb Jones back to full health. Under new head coach Jamahl Mosley, the Pelicans can see a frontcourt that is young, deep and potentially better equipped to drive a turnaround, even if the familiar caveat still hangs over everything - health and consistency will decide how real that optimism becomes. [Read more 🡒]
Pelicans Are Still Betting On One Risky Offseason Strategy
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New Orleans still has the same questions hanging over it, especially from beyond the arc, around the rim and in the harder-to-quantify areas of toughness and physicality. For this approach to pay off, the Pelicans will need more than just incremental growth from individual players, because the roster moves on their own do not fully solve the problems that have kept this team from taking the next step. [Read more 🡒]