Dejounte Murray wants a trade from the New Orleans Pelicans. Interested teams should be wary.
Murray and his representatives at Klutch Sports requested a trade, and the 4-8 Pelicans are likely to accommodate their 30-year-old guard. However, the last two teams to deal for Murray went on to regret it.
Dejounte Murray never reached the heights of his San Antonio Spurs career
By Murray’s second season with the San Antonio Spurs, who drafted him with the No. 29 pick in 2016, he emerged as one of the NBA’s top defenders. He made the All-Defensive team in 2018, then tore his ACL in the 2018-19 preseason and missed the entire season. Three years later, he had his best season, averaging 21.1 points and 9.2 assists, making the All-Star team and leading the NBA in steals.
The Spurs traded Murray to the Atlanta Hawks after the season, in exchange for three first-round picks and a pick swap. It didn’t work out well for the Hawks. Murray and Trae Young were a bad fit together, particularly on the defensive end, and the Hawks went 77-87 in two seasons. Atlanta still owes San Antonio their first-round pick next summer.
However, Atlanta managed to recover from their disastrous Murray trade by flipping him to the Pelicans for a package including two first-round picks and former lottery pick Dyson Daniels, who won Most Improved Player in his first season in Atlanta and made two All-Defensive teams.
Murray broke his hand in his first game as a Pelican, then missed over a year after tearing his Achilles. He’s suited up for just 54 games in his three-season Pelicans career and his agent, Rich Paul, has said he won’t play another one — despite his $32.8M salary.