It was a miserable season for 28-year-old Dejounte Murray, and Pelicans fans are looking for any signs of life after finishing 14th in the standings. While there are many factors to blame for their failed campaign, Murray says it was a combination of several big problems that all coincided to completely throw him off course.
“It was a situation where, like, I got all these problems going on… I broke my hand, and I’m recovering. My mom had a stroke, one of my cousins got killed, then my uncle overdosed,” said Murray on ‘The Pivot’ podcast.
Dejounte has several years of NBA experience by now, and he should still be in the prime of his career. Instead, he was overcome with grief after dealing with personal tragedies that pushed him to the limit. It’s no wonder, then, that his stats dipped across the board for some of his lowest averages in years.
The worst part for Murray is that all the issues at home and within his family began to disrupt his production on the court. As he struggled to maintain focus, Murray says he received no help from the team and struggled to secure the training he needed to get him through.
“[During all this] I’m not getting what I need in the organization,” said Murray. “It’s hard for me to get my training time. It’s hard for me to get lifts. It’s hard for me to get my own court time. So, you can only imagine where my mind was at.”
For whatever reason, the Pelicans didn’t want to cooperate with Murray on getting the training and practice he needed at the time. As a young riser in the league, Murray wanted to work, but the Pelicans were blocking his way at almost every turn.
Murray only joined the Pelicans last summer and put up a modest stat line in his first stint there with 17.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 7.4 assists per game on 39.3% shooting. Sadly, he played just 31 games for the franchise before suffering a torn Achilles tendon in January that disqualified him for the season.
Without Murray and other core players in and out of the lineup, the Pelicans couldn’t get any traction, and the playoffs slipped out of reach. Now, ahead of a massively uncertain offseason, the Pels are going to do everything they can to turn the situation around and start fresh around Zion Williamson.
In fact, some rumors even claim that the Pelicans could trade Williamson and start over with a total rebuild once again. Even with all the concerns about his health and conditioning, Zion would go for a premium package on the trade market, and they could sell him to restock their asset pool.
Whatever the Pelicans decide to do this offseason, they’ll have to do right by Dejounte Murray if they want his best next season. That means respecting his recovery and giving him all the resources he needs to have his best season yet. Only then can the Pelicans begin to foster good vibes in the locker room and start to build a team that can compete in the West.
