New Orleans Pelicans' Dejounte Murray Makes Bold Promise to Zion Williamson

New Orleans Pelicans new star Dejounte Murray has made a bold commitment to Zion Williamson.

Apr 2, 2024; Sacramento, California, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson (1) dribbles the ball up the court during the third quarter against the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center. / Sergio Estrada-USA TODAY Sports

The New Orleans Pelicans are heading into the 2024-25 NBA season looking much more dangerous than they did last year.

Recently, the Pelicans pulled off a massive trade to acquire star guard Dejounte Murray from the Atlanta Hawks. Being able to add another elite scoring option and a solid defensive piece in Murray makes them a much more serious contender in the Western Conference.

Murray offered some great quotes during his first press conference in New Orleans. Arguably the biggest and most viral quote came when he was talking about the face of the franchise, Zion Williamson.

As shared by Will Guillory of The Athletic, Murray made a bold promise to Williamson. He plans to push the superstar forward.

"That's our superstar. ... I told him I'm going to push him."

Dejounte Murray on Zion Williamson:

"That's our superstar. ... I told him I'm going to push him."

— Will Guillory (@WillGuillory) July 9, 2024

Williamson has suffered through many different injury issues throughout his young NBA career. He has not been able to get his body into great shape, which has been a contributing factor for those injuries.

Adding a leader and talent like Murray who wants to push Williamson to be his best could be a massive step in the right direction.

During the 2023-24 NBA season with the Hawks, Murray put together a big-time year. He averaged 22.5 points per game to go along with 6.4 assists, 5.3 rebounds and 1.4 steals. In addition to his averages, he shot 45.9 percent from the floor overall and knocked down 36.3 percent of his three-point attempts.

The Pelicans are looking likely to have a star-studded starting lineup. It's sounding more and more like Brandon Ingram will stick around with the team moving forward as well.

Right now, New Orleans will have Williamson, Murray, Ingram and C.J. McCollum as their top players. Those four are capable of doing a lot of damage together.

One issue that may still need to be addressed is at the center position. Jonas Valanciunas left in free agency and currently, Daniel Theis appears to be the team's top option. Theis isn't a bad player, but he's not an ideal fit in a starting lineup.

Regardless of what happens at the center position, the Pelicans have improved this offseason. Murray is a massive addition and it will be interesting to see if he can accomplish his goal of pushing Williamson.

If Williamson takes a huge leap and reaches his full potential, New Orleans is truly a team that could become an elite contender in the West.