New Orleans Pelicans Forward Has Made Major Strides in This Area of His Game

New Orleans Pelicans wing Trey Murphy took his game to another level during the 2023-24 season.

Apr 9, 2024; Portland, Oregon, USA; New Orleans Pelicans guard Trey Murphy III (25) brings the ball up the court Portland Trail Blazers in the first half at Moda Center. / Jaime Valdez-Imagn Images

One of the players that people will be keeping a close eye on with the New Orleans Pelicans during the 2024-25 season will be Trey Murphy.

A first-round pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, he has been behind Brandon Ingram in the pecking order the first three seasons of his career. But, if everything goes according to plan, that is something that will change.

In the postseason, we saw first-hand how much head coach Willie Green trusted Murphy. With Zion Williamson sidelined, it was the Virginia product who was selected as his replacement in the starting lineup.

His role expanded greatly.

After averaging only 29.6 minutes per game in the regular season, a drop from the 31.2 he played in 2022-23, he played 42 minutes against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round of the postseason.

Reverting him back to a bench role would be a step backward for the franchise. Especially because he has shown that he is ready for a bigger role.

One of the tell-tale signs of a player ready to emerge is how he responds to more responsibility on the court. Are the correct decisions being made with the ball in their hands, something as simple as making a swing pass, going from a good look to a great one?

That is a test that Murphy has passed with flying colors.

It isn’t the flashiest statistic, but he has been elite in one important area; turnover avoidance. Despite his usage rate increasing, his turnover rate decreased, as shared by Mike Shearer of Basketball Poetry.

“This isn’t a sexy stat, but it is an important one. In his third year, Trey Murphy upped his usage and assist rates while decreasing his turnover rate. The result is a rising offensive machine.

In fact, nobody in the entire league (min. 1,000 minutes) posted a lower turnover percentage than Murphy’s 5.1%. Three-point-bombing wings typically post low turnover rates; their job is to shoot after an advantage has already been created. But Murphy turns it over less than other snipers like Sam Hauser and Keegan Murray despite dribbling the ball more,” Shearer wrote.

Already possessing a strong 3-and-D base, developments of that fashion are why so many franchises around the league are high on Murphy. If the Pelicans don’t get a rookie scale extension done before the season, they will regret it once he hits restricted free agency in 2025.

For New Orleans to reach its full potential, they need to lean into those improvements. He is a better fit alongside Dejounte Murray and Zion Williamson than Ingram and creates a potentially devastating twosome on the perimeter with Herbert Jones.

For the betterment of the franchise, Murphy will be given a roadway to a breakout campaign. There are more levels to his game that can be achieved, with the only roadblock being Ingram’s presence on the roster.