He was asked if New Orleans should target a traditional point guard during the offseason. After looking at the floor for a few seconds, he replied briefly:
“That would definitely be helpful,” Ingram said, nodding.
Perhaps Ingram was also considering his team’s first-round sweep of the Oklahoma City Thunder, considering the possibility that pursuing a traditional point guard could end his time in New Orleans. Since that day, most of the speculation regarding the Pelicans has focused on Ingram’s future and whether the Pelicans had any chance of trading him for a game-changing point guard to pair with Zion Williamson.
On Friday, just before the start of free agency, the Pelicans made their move on the floor general they’ve been wanting to add for some time. They have acquired Dejounte Murray from the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for Dyson Daniels, Larry Nance Jr., EJ Liddell and two first-round picks, multiple league sources have confirmed. Athletic.
After making the All-Star team with San Antonio in 2022, the 27-year-old Murray has spent the last two seasons in Atlanta, where he has put up some of the best numbers of his career. However, his pairing with Atlanta star Trae Young, one of the ball-dominant point guards in the NBA, never worked out as smoothly as the Hawks hoped. After finishing 10 games under .500 last season, it seemed a foregone conclusion that at least one player would leave Atlanta this off-season.
As the newest member of the Pelicans, Murray can again serve as the full-time lead ballhandler on a roster loaded with scoring options on the perimeter. Murray averaged a career-high 22.5 points last season, along with 5.3 rebounds and 6.4 assists. He also made a career-high 201 3-pointers, which will be an important part of his fit next to Zion Williamson in the near future. Murray has been a below-average outside shooter for most of his career, but he made 39.2 percent of catch-and-shoot 3-pointers last season and he has slowly improved that side of his game over time.
Considering how well Young has played when he was out of the lineup and the fact that he is under an $82.6 million contract for at least the next three seasons, the acquisition of Murray would be a huge accomplishment for the Pelicans. Can be proved. They somehow managed to complete the deal without involving Ingram.
But that doesn’t mean Ingram’s future with the team is secure. In view of this dead business, the big question is what will happen next.
In his end-of-season press conference, Pelicans executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin said the change was needed to ensure New Orleans could keep up with the long list of playoff contenders in the West.
“In the past, we’ve always erred on the side of continuity, and our suggestion has been, ‘Let’s get this group healthy.’ I think we’ve seen enough of that,” he said in April. “I want to be really, really clear: This is not going to be a summer of complacency. It’s time to get better.”
Trading for Murray is a sign that Griffin is supporting those words. Very few teams around the NBA can match the size and speed of a roster that currently consists of Murray, Williamson, Ingram, CJ McCollum, Herb Jones and Trey Murphy.
As attractive as this mix may be, the roster is unbalanced and the team lacks frontcourt depth once this deal gets off the page. The only true center left on the roster is Yves Messi, a 19-year-old they drafted on Wednesday. Jonas Valanciunas and Cody Zeller are set to hit unrestricted free agency this summer, and Nance is headed to Atlanta. There could be a world where the Pelicans fill their frontcourt void with some cheaper options via the non-taxpayer midtier exception or other small trades.
But this Murray deal makes the potential next path clear: The Pelicans will have to find their new starting center by trading for Ingram or McCollum. And Ingram is the more likely candidate, given that he is in the final year of his contract and has a higher trade value than McCollum.
League sources said Ingram is eligible for a new deal, but the Pelicans have shown little interest in giving him a maximum contract extension. Athletic. Griffin recently seemed to be ready to sign Ingram.
“Brandon wants to stay here. He believes in what we’re building. It makes sense for us,” Griffin said Wednesday night. “At the same time, there is a financial reality that we all deal with. I think we’re excited about Brandon. We know he’s excited about us. Usually, those things give good results in some way or the other.
The reality is that it was difficult enough to find the right way to split minutes between Ingram, McCollum, Jones and Murphy, and adding Murray to that group almost guarantees that at least one of those players will see time on the court. But we will get to see much less time than him. , This is before considering the ramifications of paying exorbitant amounts of money to have McCollum and/or Murphy (a year from now) come off the bench.
With Atlanta off the list of potential Ingram suitors, are there still teams interested in him with the right assets to make a deal? The Murray trade should at least give the Pelicans enough confidence to prioritize a center while making a big change. Previously, other deal proposals were complicated by the Pelicans’ need to add a perimeter player and a starting center. Now, at least, the Pelicans have closed one of those holes.
Cleveland’s Jarrett Allen continues to top the list of candidates. The Pelicans have shown interest in him over the years, and keeping Darius Garland out of potential offers would make it easier for both sides to find common ground. However, according to league sources, Cleveland may not be interested in giving Ingram the lucrative extension he is seeking.
Portland’s Deandre Ayton is another intriguing option after the Blazers selected UConn center Donovan Clingan in the first round of Wednesday’s draft. However, it’s hard to see the Blazers wanting Ingram or McCollum, so the Blazers will have to add a third team to supply young pieces to add to their rebuilding roster. Perhaps Philadelphia, which wants Ingram if it can’t find another star, could facilitate a three-team deal.
Another idea is a deal centered on Ingram for Milwaukee’s Brook Lopez and Bobby Portis. This would add versatility and depth at the center position for New Orleans and Lopez is on an expiring contract. But, then again, would Milwaukee want to sign Ingram to a new deal?
The Pelicans may look for a young option at the 5th position to help their salary cap situation and give them a long-term answer at the position. Detroit’s Jalen Duren is an interesting option; Former Pelicans general manager Trajan Langdon is the new chief executive of the Pistons and has formed a strong bond with Ingram over the years. The Pistons could easily absorb Ingram’s contract into their salary cap space and immediately become more competitive, while Duren and Zion would form one of the more physically imposing frontcourts in the league.
Utah’s Walker Kessler is another name to keep an eye on. He provides the elite rim protection the Pels are desperately looking for, and this could be a good time to go after him when his value appears to be going down.
Another wild card name to consider is Knicks center Mitchell Robinson, who has been involved in trade rumors with New York hoping to get enough salary to re-sign Isaiah Hartenstein this summer. Robinson has had injury problems, and may not want to return to New Orleans, where he played high school basketball. But he’s on track to make $27 million over the next two seasons and is an elite defender when healthy.
Ultimately, Griffin’s roster change with the Murray trade is a good start, but far from complete. Making the right move to turn Ingram or McCollum into a quality starting center could push New Orleans into a different tier of contenders in the West, but that’s not an easy decision to make with so many other moving parts around the league. Who will be available?
Aggression is important this time of year. There is also patience.
Some other thoughts on Murray’s fit in New Orleans:
To make this deal work for New Orleans it will be necessary to manage Murray’s placement next to CJ McCollum, Last season, McCollum made a concerted effort to become more of an off-ball threat to allow Williamson and Ingram to handle more shot-creation responsibilities. McCollum made a franchise-record 239 3-pointers despite playing only 66 games.
The real question will be how effective the Pelicans can be on defense when Murray and McCollum are on the floor together. Despite some of his physical attributes, Murray’s defensive impact diminished significantly during his two seasons in Atlanta. There are those within the Pelicans front office who believe that moving Murray to a situation where he doesn’t need to be a 20-point scorer every night will help him improve his all-around game.
On defense, Murray’s specialty is creating turnovers by playing in the passing lanes, which fits directly into the Pelicans’ identity on that end. Over the past three seasons, Murray leads the NBA with 361 steals. Jones is second on that list with 338 steals.
If Murray can recapture some of the focus and physicality he’s brought to the defense in the past, this could be one of the best defensive units in the league again even after losing two of its most disruptive pieces in Daniels and Nance.
Part of the Pelicans’ motivation in making this deal was undoubtedly their late-game collapse, which often cost them last season. New Orleans was 14–15 in games decided by five points or less in the final five minutes of the fourth quarter. During “clutch” situations, the Pelicans were 26th in offensive rating and 28th in turnover percentage.
They desperately needed someone to help organize the offense and take good shots when the game slowed down.
Even though he may not have a reputation among national audiences as a big shot maker, Murray has been one of the most productive “clutch” performers in the league over the years. He is the only player in the NBA to finish in the top-15 in “clutch” points in each of the last four seasons.
This business was a direct attempt to overcome that major shortcoming of this group. With the Western Conference being highly competitive from top to bottom, substantial improvement in this area could be the difference between home-court advantage or fighting for a play-in spot.
Murray’s durability is an important part of this deal that can’t be ignored. During his two seasons in Atlanta, Murray missed a total of 12 games. With all the injury issues that have derailed the Pelicans team during the Zion era, knowing that Murray can be a reliable player who can stay on the court only increases his value.
(Top photo: Larry Robinson/USA TODAY)
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