The New Orleans Pelicans have signed one of their best young players to a contract extension that will tie him to the franchise for the next five years.
On Monday, the Pelicans and Trey Murphy agreed to a four-year, $112 million extension, which came roughly six hours before the 5 p.m. deadline to get a deal done.
Murphy is entering the final season of his rookie contract. He will make $28 million in average annual value over the life of his extension — a nice payday for the 24-year-old forward who has helped New Orleans make the playoffs twice in the past three years.
“We talked about it," Pelicans coach Willie Green said. "The goal all along was to make sure that we kept Trey here."
The Pelicans drafted Murphy with the 17th pick in 2021. He was part of the same rookie class as Herb Jones and Jose Alvarado. By the end of their rookie seasons, all three had established themselves as rotation pieces.
Murphy has provided much-needed outside shooting in his three seasons in New Orleans. He has shot 39.2% from 3-point territory on close to six attempts per game in the NBA. His shooting range and efficiency have made him an excellent complementary piece alongside Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum — the players who dominate the ball the most. The Pelicans outscored their opponents by 7.0 points per 100 possessions with Murphy on the floor last season.
"He can shoot it from the parking lot," guard Jordan Hawkins said about Murphy. "He has a really quick release. Doesn’t happen often for a tall guy like him. And he’s really athletic. He’s a very versatile shooter. He’s becoming a scorer in a way, too.”
Murphy has started 89 games with the Pelicans. The majority of those starts — 65 — came during the 2022-23 season, when Williamson and Ingram both missed significant time with injuries. Murphy averaged 14.5 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists in that campaign.
Murphy is not expected to be available when the Pelicans tip off their season Wednesday against the Chicago Bulls. He suffered a hamstring strain during training camp. When he returns to the lineup, he should be one of New Orleans’ first subs off the bench.
At media day in September, Murphy expressed his desire to be a starter in the NBA soon. Right now, Ingram is the Pelicans’ starting small forward. The Pelicans explored trading Ingram in the summer, but they wound up bringing him back on an expiring deal.
The Pelicans appear to be building around a group of four players: Williamson, Dejounte Murray, Murphy and Jones. All four of them are under contract for at least the next three seasons.
If the Pelicans and Murphy hadn't worked out an extension before the 5 p.m. Monday deadline, Murphy would have become a restricted free agent next summer.
Ingram is an unrestricted free agent next summer, meaning he is eligible to sign with any team.