On the day of the rookie deadline, the New Orleans Pelicans locked up one of their young stars. According to Shams Charania of ESPN, Trey Murphy III and the Pels have agreed to a four-year, $112 million contract extension. NOLA.com’s Christian Clark reported that the deal will begin in the 2025-26 season and does not include a player option.
Murphy, 24, was taken by the Pels with the 17th overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. He is a three-point shooter who has the right skill set to match up with Zion Williamson, Herb Jones and Dejounte Murray, especially because his defense continued to improve every season. During the 2023–24 season Murphy averaged 14.8 points and 4.9 rebounds per game, shooting 44.3% from the floor and 38% on three-pointers.
Murphy is the fifth player from the 2021 draft to sign a rookie extension before Monday’s 6:00 p.m. ET deadline. Cade Cunningham of the Detroit Pistons, Evan Mobley of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Scottie Barnes of the Toronto Raptors, and Franz Wagner of the Orlando Magic all signed their rookie max extensions in July.
