There were a host of reasons why the New Orleans Pelicans wanted to add Dejounte Murray to their roster, but the first one was the most obvious: This is where he wanted to be.
Pelicans executive VP David Griffin said as much when he recalled a conversation with Rich Paul at the Klutch pro day earlier this offseason, when Murray's agent suggested in no uncertain terms that the Pelicans should go out and trade for one of Atlanta's star point guards.
"it was really an eye-opening thing and it was meaningful for us," Griffin said, at Murray's introductory press conference, "because as an organization, that’s the kind of organization you want to be, where players the caliber of Dejounte Murray are looking forward to joining what you’re building."
The Pelicans had tried to swing a deal for Murray at the trade deadline last season but no workable deal emerged. They redoubled their efforts this offseason and came to terms on a trade that sent a pair of first-rounders and four players (PG Dyson Daniels, F E.J. Liddell, F/C Larry Nance Jr., F/C Cody Zeller) to the Hawks in exchange for the 28-year-old former All-Star.
Along with his former first-team all-defense credentials, his rebounding at the guard position and ability to finish games on both ends of the floor was an obvious fit for this Pelicans squad that at times found themselves without enough ball-handling in late-game situations. That quandary was clear in their 14-15 record in clutch games (games within 5 points in the final 5 minutes), a mark that ranked in the bottom half of the league.
"We’re in a situation where we looked at Dejounte as a player that just wanted to win no matter what it took and when you’re a player that can close games because you can get to a shot, and when you’re a player that can close games because you can get a steal and get somebody else a basket, that’s invaluable to a team," Griffin continued. "So we look at Dejounte as a guy that can close games in multiple ways and that was important to us.”
Murray agreed that he was "built for it" in exactly those situations, but the desire to join the Pelicans came down to more than that. It's an opportunity that he was "excited" for, and he made that clear, saying the word excited upward of 20 times as he spoke to the media for about 20 minutes Tuesday morning at the team facility. But it was what he saw from afar, and also up close and personal that got him the most intrigued.
He called back to games against the Pelicans over the past few seasons in Atlanta, as well as during his time with the Spurs to start his career. He saw a team that always competed, particularly in new teammate Herb Jones who graciously offered to give up the No. 5 that he's worn for the past three seasons.
Murray promised to take care of his new teammate for giving up the number, with Jones expected to wear the No. 2 starting next season. He's also been in contact with Trey Murphy, Jose Alvarado and Brandon Ingram, the latter of whom he's known since they met on the high school circuit and actually spoke to the morning of the trade.
"You see they love each other, it’s a brotherhood and, you know, that was easy to me and something to be a part of," Murray said. "I work hard. I stand on trust, loyalty and just want to be in a great environment, so this is an environment that I wanted to be in, I’m excited to be in."
Another major theme spoken about at-length was leadership. It's something that will be important as this team navigates its new reality with a more ball-dominant point guard. Murray said he's a "natural born leader" and that he's always been that way. It's another thing Griffin made it clear he was excited about, even if it wasn't necessarily at the front of their minds when they envisioned the deal.
"It’d probably be disingenuous of us to say we recognized the degree to which he’s going to lead this group," Griffin said. "I don’t think coming in the door that was our expectation and you sit with him for 3 minutes, you know what this is gonna look like. This is gonna be different and I think that’s something for us that’s the most exciting.”
MORE FROM DEJOUNTE MURRAY
On the pairing with Zion Williamson, who was in attendance at Murray's press conference
“That’s our superstar and I’m excited to push him. I told him I’ma push him and this goes back before I was joining the team, you know, we exchanged numbers and had conversations and it was never about, oh, come to New Orleans or this or that, he is somebody who reached out and he wanted to learn certain things and you want that from somebody that’s young, that thinks they don’t know everything and they’re willing to be a sponge. That just shows who he is as a person and how much he wants it, and when I say that, how much he wants to win and be great as an individual, but also for his team. So I’m just ... excited to push him to the next level because he has a bunch of levels he can reach.”
More on Murray's leadership style
“I’m a leader, a natural born leader. Like I said, I don’t like praise. I don’t like speaking on myself. I’d rather just allow everybody to see that, you know, once I walk in the locker room, before the locker room, I’m excited to see our guys in Summer League. I’ll be there supporting the young guys, go to dinner with the guys that are there, the staff, you know, I’m just excited. So, like I said, I’m a natural born leader. I don’t know how to fake it or be anything else but that.”
On defensive pairing with Herb Jones
“He’s a dawg. He’s a competitor. He loves the game and he takes pride in any matchup he has. So even if you go watch the Atlanta game, you see us going at it, you see us chirping a little bit and then after you just see us hugging and you see the love for one another. That’s what I love. That’s what I can’t wait to see in practice, because ... iron sharpens iron and it just helps your team, so to have two guys like that on a team, that’s going to be, I was telling my family, we’re going to be arguing about who’s guarding the best player, because that’s something I want to do. I want to guard the best player. He wants to guard the best player. So I’m just excited for his growth, his development. He’s doing everything he’s supposed to. ... You can just see him get better and better.”
On getting traded for the 2nd time in his career
“It’s a business. It’s a business that I stay out of ... when it comes to the front office and all these different things. You’ve got to realize in the NBA you have to win. It’s not on one player, but, you know, you always got to do what’s best for your team and, you know, sometimes those are hard things and I understand that. Like I said, I understand the business, but you know, for me, I keep the main goals the main goals and everything where it’s supposed to stay, and like I said, that’s working hard and being a great person and that’s the same thing I try to tell young guys coming into the league, control what you can control. San Antonio was San Antonio, Atlanta was Atlanta. I’m in New Orleans as a Pelican and I’m excited for that. That’s all that matters.”
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