Dejounte Murray is a member of the New Orleans Pelicans, at least for now. But the fact that he is still with the team has not stopped him from calling them out.
The 2024-25 season was a big disappointment for the Pelicans, who had hoped to be competitive in the Western Conference. Instead, they imploded on their way to a lowly 21-61 record, the fourth-worst in the NBA – and they did not even get a favorable draft pick to show for it.
In addition to the team’s struggles, Murray was having ones in his personal life. And in a recent podcast appearance, he chastised his team for not supporting him through them enough. Speaking on The Pivot Podcast – hosted by former Pittsburgh Steelers safety Ryan Clark, former Jacksonville Jaguars running back Fred Taylor and former Miami Dolphins linebacker Channing Crowder – Murray was plain-speaking in his criticism of how he felt the Pelicans had not been there for him during a difficult year of family troubles.
Pelicans Did Not Accommodate Murray’s Needs
In a candid conversation, Murray spoke of his various pains and traumas during a difficult stretch of life, yet also of how he felt the Pelicans were too caught up in other issues to give him the outreach he felt he needed.
“It was a situation where, like, I got all these problems going on”, said Murray, referring to both his family situation and his own injuries. “I broke my hand, I’m recovering. My mom had a stroke, one of my cousins got killed, then my uncle overdosed.”
“[At the same time]. I’m not getting what I need in the organization. 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 mental [health] was at.”
Importantly, Murray went beyond just criticizing the Pelicans, but also elevating his first NBA team, the San Antonio Spurs, by way of a contrast. Murray had effusive praise for the treatment he received from the Spurs, and their recently-retired head coach Gregg Popovich, whom he called a “father figure”, something he held up in direct comparison to the treatment he felt he received from the Pelicans.
“[T]hat was a man who cared about me. That was a man who wanted me to reach my full potential in life first – then as a basketball player”, Murray said of coach Pop. “He’s so real. He tried to move my mom to San Antonio with his own money after she got shot. My mom was shot in the leg my rookie year. He called her himself, without me knowing until after the fact. ‘We want to move you here.'”
“That sounds like a dude that cares about me and loves me, right?”
Turmoil In New Orleans
Having been acquired from the Atlanta Hawks in July 2024 – giving up breakout star and All-NBA Defensive First Team honor recipient Dyson Daniels in the process – Murray had a down year. Hindered by the injuries, he averaged only 17.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 7.4 assists and 2.0 steals per game, shooting 39.3% from the field and 29.9% from the three-point line.
Once their turgid season finally ended, the Pelicans sought to shake things up. Long-time executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin was fired after six seasons at the helm, to be replaced by former Detroit Pistons president Joe Dumars, while the uncertainty over the Zion Williamson situation (that has hung over the franchise like blackened skies ever since he joined the team to much fanfare in 2019) has only gotten murkier.
With so little going right, someone with the chaotic factors in his life such as Murray would stand to benefit greatly from stability and certainty. Those two qualities, however, were missing from the Pelicans last season. Murray remains with the Pelicans for now and has three years left to run on the four-year, $120 million extension he had signed in his time with the Hawks, but he does not sound like a man happy with his situation.
Pelicans Guard Blast the Team for Being Unsupportive