New Orleans Pelicans guard Dejounte Murray wants a trade from the franchise, and his agent, Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul, and team officials have started working on a resolution.
“Today, Dejounte Murray’s representatives informed us of his request to be traded,” the Pelicans said in a statement Friday. “We will evaluate potential trade opportunities that are in the best interest of our organization.”
Murray has made it clear to the organization that he is ready to play a key role in meaningful basketball elsewhere, sources told ESPN’s Shams Charania.
The Pelicans are 4-8 to start the season and have lost four games in a row, including a 145-111 blowout at home to the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday. Murray has been ruled out because of a left ankle sprain for Friday night’s NBA Cup game against the Memphis Grizzlies.
After the latest game, Murray tweeted a response to an account that noted that the Pelicans are 3-0 without Murray in the lineup and 1-8 with him on the court: “From what’s going on INSIDE This sounds like someone hit you to say this!! THE ‘SABOTAGE’ IS REAL!!!!!!” the since-deleted tweet read.
Murray, 30, was acquired by the Pelicans in a June 2024 trade with the Atlanta Hawks, as New Orleans dealt two first-round picks, Dyson Daniels, Larry Nance Jr. and E.J. Liddell to Atlanta for him. Murray was coming off a 2023-24 season in which he averaged 22.5 points, 6.4 assists and 5.3 rebounds per game.
He has dealt with major injuries and played just 54 games over the past three seasons, however. He has averaged 16.6 points, 6.6 assists and 5.9 rebounds for the Pelicans, shooting just 41.9% from the floor. He broke a hand in the 2024 season opener and suffered a season-ending ruptured right Achilles tendon in January 2025. Murray is averaging just 13.4 points per game this season.
Murray, who made the All-Star team in 2022, is making $32.8 million this season and has a player option for $30.8 million next season.
