30 Teams in 30 Days: Is Dejounte Murray the missing piece for the Pelicans?

Pre-season

Re-signing: Additions: Jamal Cain (free agent), Javonte Green (free agent), Dejounte Murray (trade), Daniel Theis (free agent)Draft: Yves Missi (No. 21 pick), Antonio Reeves (No. 47)Departures: Dyson Daniels (to Hawks), E.J. Liddell (to Hawks), Naji Marshall (to Mavericks), Larry Nance Jr. (to Hawks), Jonas Valanciunas (to Wizards), Cody Zeller (to Hawks)Unsigned Free Agents: Dereon Seabron

Last season

It almost happened — Zion Williamson making it through an entire season. He did play a career-high 70 games, only to once again pull up lame, this time in the Play-In Tournament. He’s the only lottery pick from the 2019 Draft who has yet to appear in a playoff game.

All that aside, Williamson was beastly (22.9 ppg, 5.8 rpg and 5 apg) when healthy, and the Pelicans did win 49 games with solid contributions from several players. Brandon Ingram, CJ McCollum and Trey Murphy were good compliments, reliable almost nightly to put New Orleans in position to win.

Summer summary

Dejounte Murray was one of the league’s biggest names to change teams this summer when the Hawks sent him to New Orleans. He brings ballhandling, decent outside shooting and on-ball defensive skills to a team that could use all of the above.

The Pelicans didn’t surrender much to get him but did suffer a big (sizably speaking) loss when Jonas Valanciunas bolted to Washington in free agency. That, and Larry Nance Jr. being sacrificed in the Murray trade put the Pelicans on a hunt for big men, which will probably continue through the trade deadline.

Rookie Profile

Spotlight on

Ingram was a hot topic around the league this summer and some execs thought he’d be placed on the market after the Pelicans hesitated to extend his contract. Apparently, several teams are also shy about giving him a pay hike on the $36 million he’ll make in the final year of his current deal. Unless something changes between now and opening night, Ingram will be in contract mode — motivation that could work in the Pelicans’ favor.

How far can the Pelicans go?

All conversations about the Pelicans start and end with Williamson’s health. Assuming his issues are in the past — always a risk — and he plays at an All-NBA level, the Pelicans bring an excellent rotation that projects to 50-plus wins, impressive in the demanding Western Conference.

Murray, Zion, Ingram, Murphy, Herb Jones and Jose Alvarado are all either in their primes or nearing it, while McCollum remains a dangerous scorer. The Pelicans must address their lack of quality size at some point, and if they do, a top-six finish — and avoiding the SoFi Play-In Tournament — is realistic.

Up next: Houston Rockets | Previously: Dallas Mavericks

30 Teams in 30 Days: Complete schedule

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Shaun Powell has covered the NBA for more than 25 years. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on X.

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