NBA Insider Reveals Potential Price Tag for New Orleans Pelicans Rookie Extension

How much is a rookie scale extension with Trey Murphy going to cost the New Orleans Pelicans.

Sep 30, 2024; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Pelicans guard/forward Trey Murphy III (25) takes part in Pelicans Media Day. / Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images

The New Orleans Pelicans roster, for the most part, looks set for the 2024-25 regular season.

It doesn’t look like a trade centered around Brandon Ingram, whose future remains up in the air, will get consummated any time soon. All signs are pointing toward him beginning the year with the Pelicans and seeing how things work out.

However, his future isn’t the only one that is up in the air. There are some things to figure out with Trey Murphy as well.

A first-round pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, he is eligible for a rookie scale extension. The two sides have until the eve of he regular season to work out a long-term deal, or he will become a restricted free agent in the offseason.

That is something New Orleans would assuredly like to avoid.

If he hits the market, even as a restricted free agent, all it would take is for one team to offer him an exorbitant contract for the franchise to be put in a tough predicament. Of course, Murphy would prefer to bet on himself and maximize his earnings.

But, the Pelicans should be motivated to get a deal done.

What could a long-term contract for the two-way wing look like? NBA expert Bobby Marks shared the parameters of the kind of deal the two sides could agree to over at ESPN.

“Five years, $137 million. The contract is based on Ingram not being on the roster next season. Besides Jalen McDaniels last year (five years, $131 million) and De'Andre Hunter in 2022 (four years, $90 million), there are no forwards who signed a non-max rookie extension the previous two offseasons for more than $20 million per year.”

As marks noted, this is a somewhat unprecedented position New Orleans and Murphy are in. The proposed contract number would be historic for a non-max rookie scale extension.

But, with no Ingram solution, it is hard to pinpoint exactly what value the Virginia product had long-term. The Pelicans have never paid the luxury tax and it is hard to envision them starting now unless this proves to be a championship-caliber unch.

Not to mention, staying healthy has been an issue as he is going to be sidelined to start a campaign for the second straight year. Alas, when he is on the court, there is a lot to like. He is the prototypical wing that teams are now committing to and building teams around.