Fresh off his season debut for the Pelicans after a long recovery from a ruptured Achilles tendon, Dejounte Murray wanted to clear things up.
The rumored trade request from the veteran point guard? He says it never happened.
"Let's clear the air because f*** a source," Murray posted to social media on Wednesday. "Me or my agent never requested a trade out of New Orleans!!!! Joe and the whole organization know I was locked in to come back better than ever to help make this play in push and whatever comes after that."
There were certainly rumblings prior to the trade deadline surrounding Murray and other Pelicans players, though the only move the team made was sending PG Jose Alvarado to the Knicks for trade compensation and forward Dalen Terry, who was later waived.
The Pelicans scuffled to a 16-42 record without Murray, though they've been a more competitive team of late with wins in 7 of their past 13 games. That stretch included Tuesday night's 113-109 win over the Warriors with Murray back in the lineup for the first time. Murray started and played 25 minutes, logging 13 points, 3 assists and a key layup in the final minutes to secure the victory.
There's no doubt that Murray's presence makes the Pelicans a better team, though a play-in push feels like a bit of a pipe dream. The Pelicans currently sit second-to-last in the Western Conference standings and would have to make up 11 games with 23 left to play to land in the 10th and final play-in seed. Historically the fewest wins ever for a play-in team was 34 during the 2020-'21 season. The Pelicans would have to go 17-6 the rest of the way to reach that mark.
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"Are we a contender? No. Can we reach top 6 spot? No," Murray said when his play-in push comment was challenged. "Can we build some momentum playing together and build winning habits the rest of the season? Yes. Can we treate every game like a championship game and win win win win? Yes. Can we get in them last spots in the play-in??? Duhhhhh."
It's a fair goal, albeit unlikely. The Pelicans traded away their first-round pick for next season during last year's draft to acquire the draft rights to center Derik Queen. They're also led by interim head coach James Borrego after Willie Green was fired xxx games into the year, and a strong finish would certainly help his case at landing the full-time job. A strong finish could also be a springboard into the 2026-'27 campaign.
The Pelicans are next in action with back-to-back games against the Jazz, a team that won't be beating any allegations of tanking any time soon and one that has lost 15 of its past 19 games.