The regular season begins in less than a month for the The New Orleans Pelicans and individual players are seriously preparing for the new year. New Orleans has hosted a Voluntary team training in California Last week, all the players were present, with the exception of Brandon Ingram, currently in a contract dispute with the team, and Daniel Theis. The German-born forward played this summer with the German national team in Paris.
Another Pelicans player eligible for a contract extension Trey Murphy III, a fourth-year forward, is a forward. The former Virginia standout is eligible for a contract extension as a rookie, and the deal is expected to close this offseason. Murphy III spent his summer honing his basketball skills. He and Herb Jones were selected to the U.S. Selection Team to help the men’s Olympic team train for the Summer Games.
The 6-foot-10 sharpshooter now enlists the help of one of the best basketball coaches in the game.
Drew Hanlen boasts of being the NBA’s #1 skills coach and consultant. He works closely with other NBA players like Joel Embiid, Jayson Tatum, Zach Lavine, and others. The social media post also caught the attention of a few other prominent NBA players.
Pelicans teammate Dejounte Murray said he would personally help Murphy III make the next leap. Murray said at his introductory press conference in New Orleans that he would be there to challenge his teammates, and he hopes they will do the same for him.
Speaking about developing a relationship with star forward Zion Williamson, Murray told reporters he would push Williamson to do his best.
“I told him I was going to push him (Williamson),” Murray continued. “If I see something I think he can improve on, if he sees something for me, we’ll be open to that. … I’m looking forward to pushing him to the next level because there’s a lot of levels he can reach.”
The Instagram post also caught the attention of Philadelphia 76ers rising star Tyrese Maxey, who sees a Most Improved Player award in Murphy III’s future. Maxey knows what it takes to win the prestigious award, having won it last season after averaging career-highs in points (25.9), rebounds (3.7) and assists (6.2) last year.
Murphy III has improved his game every season since being drafted by the Pelicans in 2021. Last season was his best so far, scoring 14.8 points per game in 57 appearances. New Orleans has even higher hopes for Murphy III moving forward, as they view him as a vital piece in moving this franchise forward.