NEW ORLEANS — The Dejounte Murray trade was much more than a talent upgrade for the New Orleans Pelicans.
Considering Murray’s track record — a former All-Star who averaged at least 20 points, five rebounds, and five assists in each of his previous three seasons — adding him last summer in exchange for a developing prospect (Dyson Daniels) and a veteran big man (Larry Nance Jr.), plus some draft capital, seemed like a no-brainer from the outside.
This was also a philosophical shift for New Orleans. After getting demolished in a first-round sweep by Oklahoma City in the playoffs, the Pelicans decided it was time to find a “true” point guard who could organize an offense that looked chaotic in the past. It was also an attempt to find someone capable of stepping in as a second option next to Zion Williamson with Brandon Ingram heading into the final year of his contract.
More than anything, it indicated that David Griffin, the Pelicans’ executive vice president of basketball operations, was ready to back up his declaration last April that this team needed significant change as it prepared for the next phase of its evolution. Murray, on and off the court, was supposed to be the catalyst for that change.
Just a few months into his first season with the Pelicans, a lot has changed around Murray, and almost all of it has been for the worse. The hope was that Murray could provide a solution to some of the issues that have plagued this team in the past. Instead, his early-season struggles have made the Pelicans’ inexplicable 5-22 start even more exasperating.
Murray had a chance to provide hope during a season that already seems lost. It hasn’t played out like that yet.
Some of the problems are beyond Murray’s control. Per Spotrac, New Orleans players have already missed 127 games to injury this season, including the 17 games Murray missed after fracturing his left hand on opening night. The Pels had just 153 games missed to injury all last season. That Daniels is having a breakout season with the Hawks hurts perception, too.
But in recent weeks, Murray, CJ McCollum, Herb Jones and Trey Murphy III have all returned from extended injury stints. Even with Williamson (hamstring) and Ingram (ankle) still out indefinitely with injuries, the Pelicans should have enough to be competitive against most teams.
Instead, they’ve gone 1-8 since Murray returned to the lineup, including six double-digit losses. In those nine games, Murray is averaging 16.9 points, 6.3 rebounds and 6.4 assists while shooting 37.4 percent from the floor and 29.6 percent on 3s. It’s one of the worst stretches he’s had in recent years. While the team has floundered, Murray has done very little to lift them.
Over the last nine games, the Pelicans have been outscored by 118 points with Murray on the floor, which is the worst plus-minus for anyone on the team during that stretch. Per Cleaning The Glass, the Pelicans have an offensive rating of 103.7 with Murray in the lineup, equivalent to the mark Washington’s league-worst offense has put up this season.
His struggles have shown up the most in his surprising spike in careless giveaways on the offensive end. Murray never had more than seven turnovers in any of the first 480 games of his career, but he recorded eight in each of his team’s last two losses — to Indiana on Sunday and Sacramento last Thursday. He had seven turnovers in a loss to Memphis on Nov. 27.
Murray has never finished a season averaging more than 2.6 turnovers a game, but he’s at 4.2 giveaways per game through his first 10 appearances as a Pelican. Many of them have been avoidable.
“I don’t like turning the ball over. I try to value that as much as I can,” Murray said after Pelicans practice last Friday. “I take accountability. … It’s just about me being better with the ball.”
Murray has been on the floor during some of the ugliest basketball New Orleans has played this season, which is inexcusable given the lineups the team was using before his return from a broken hand.
Despite the constant losing, the Pelicans should be establishing a standard for what this team should look like with building blocks such as Murray, Murphy, Jones and Yves Missi on the floor together, but that has been non-existent. Understandably, they struggled as the Pelicans dealt with the worst of their injuries. It’s worrisome that things haven’t improved.
Considering how much his numbers have dipped, it’s easy to point fingers at Murray for his play. Other factors must be considered when evaluating his struggles.
Murray is still only 10 games into his first season with a new team, and the makeup of the roster has shifted dramatically without Williamson and Ingram on the floor leading the way. As that dynamic has shifted, Murray has been forced to figure things out on the fly.
It’s not any easier when he had to sit for a month and jump back into the mix on a team desperate to stop losing. While Murray has said the right things publicly, it’s hard to imagine that he hasn’t felt added pressure to pick things up quickly with the team struggling as much as it has. Trying to single-handedly will a team back from 17 games under .500 can often lead to even more disaster.
Then, there are some of the things he’s dealt with off the court. Before the season, Murray spent some time away from the team to be with his mother, who suffered a stroke. In recent weeks, Murray has said that his mother is recovering well, but it’s not easy to overcome such serious personal concerns.
Murray has generally appeared upbeat and present with his teammates despite the rough start to the season. But it would be tough to blame him if he needed some extra time to get back right mentally and physically.
“(He’s) coming back into a situation where he’s thrust right into having a lot on his shoulders,” New Orleans coach Willie Green said. “Being responsible for getting the team involved, getting us into our sets, guarding some of the best players night in and night out and then trying to score 20-plus (points), too. He’s still knocking off rust. He’s still finding his rhythm.”
Then, there are some of the ongoing issues this team is dealing with on the court. Even with several rotation players back, the Pelicans’ offense has looked stagnant and predictable for long stretches over the past few weeks. When it’s at its worst, it looks like a slog.
When much of the offense consists of players just standing around, the onus primarily falls on the guards to generate opportunities from thin air. When Murray has been tasked with this, the results have been poor.
At times, he’s also been the victim of disorganization on offense and new pieces still figuring out how to work together. On this play, he gets stuck after he draws two defenders and two Pels run into each other as he makes a bounce pass. Turnover.
He makes the right play on this drive and kicks it to a spot where an open shooter should be, but Brandon Boston Jr. already cut to the basket by the time Murray made the pass. Another turnover.
Some of this is on Murray being better with his decision-making and getting his team organized. Some of it falls on Green and the coaching staff to bring more variety to the offense and not rely so much on isolation ball. The extra practice time for teams that did not travel to Las Vegas for the NBA Cup could help.
Either way, the beginning of the Murray experiment in New Orleans has gone as poorly as either side could’ve imagined. There’s still time for them to show the value Murray can bring now and to the future. Both he and the team desperately need that to happen to prevent this season from turning into a complete waste.
(Top photo: Todd Kirkland / Getty Images)