The Pelicans have gone through four up & down seasons , filtered with injuries and reported locker room issues. The front office reportedly has been left to vacillate over their future plans , and who among their roster is a part of it. The fluctuating nature of Zion Williamson’s health status , has left a dark cloud over a franchise who should be promised playoff contention for years to come. In Williamson’s stay the Pelicans have developed a plethora of tertiary options awaiting his return - chief among them being Trey Murphy III.
Murphy , up to this point , has taken one of the strangest developmental routes I’ve seen for a legitimate NBA starter. TMII ironically enough was in the same recruiting class as Zion , in which he was an unranked no-star prospect out of Cary , North Carolina. Rice was the only D1 school to offer Murphy , and he would play there for two-seasons before transferring to Virginia.
Murphy went from a no-star recruit to first rounder , because of his ability to fulfill a role that every team needs. The NBA loves a big shooter , and Murphy was selected as a first rounder despite his age in part due to that love. Murphy has the only 50/40/90 season in Virginia History while measuring in at 6’9 (+3 WS). The “ 3&D” moniker was always going to be connected to his name in part because of the lack of creation in juxtaposition to his measurements & play finishing. 3&D though is inflexible, it does what it says on the tin - they shoot & defend, sometimes more than that, but never less. Murphy has quickly broken the shackles of the 3&D label, asserting himself among an even more niche group- the splash & slashers.
Shooting Versatility
There’s being a good shooter , and then there’s being a 5 tool. There’s a sharp difference between a Patrick Williams 42% from 3 ( I love you I’m sorry ) , and a Trey Murphy one. The difference lies in how the defense is responding to these percentages, and how that percentage can be allocated toward different play types.
A shooter is like a musician, the rhythmic nature of the skill allows for success in one aspect and failure in another. Just like some artists can only do one style of music, some shooters are only great from one or two play types but don’t have the overall shooting versatility to truly unlock elite offense. Murphy is the David Bowie of shooting, giving it to you any way you want it.
Murphy is a lightning fast one motion shooter , with a gather from the mid-point , and evident dip to a low release. The energy transfer from his knees to hips is overtly clean , and he generates a lot of power from the base of his shots. He gathers away from his body for what can be considered a windup into his release.
Murphy has a good spacial understanding and uses it to his advantage as a shooter. Like here, where he quickly relocates to the corner after a pass. Notice his preparation, the torso turn on the catch, before he quickly sets his feet and fires.
Here the Pelicans run Murphy off a down screen at the nail. Off the screen, he sells horizontally with his momentum, before changing directions off that front foot. Trey is able to quickly get his body to face the rim and knocks this one down.
You can involve Murphy in action as a screener, like here where the Pelicans go “Spain“ with him as the back screener. The Rockets failed to properly switch this action, and it's bombs away for the wing.
Murphy can effectively shoot from any pocket in his catch radius. Here, he catches from the side of his left ear and fires without a dip. His impeccable power generation from his lower base makes shots like these possible.
The speed of his release, range on his shot, and ability to shoot from a plethora of pockets are a big reason 61% of his C&S 3’s are unguarded. It's not that Murphy doesn't garner respect as a shooter, but instead that his mechanics inherently create these opportunities. Yes, Murphy plays with great creators, but he also punishes gapping off him as few in the league can.
An important detail missed in Murphy’s game is his proficient pull-up shooting. Murphy Isn’t a great handler, but he can effectively shoot it out of 1-2 dribble pull-ups. Like here, where his pull-up footwork shines in PNR, knocking down this jumper against a high drop with Jabari going under the screen.
In transition, Murphy has a lot more freedom as a handler to create these 3-point opportunities. His separation footwork is inescapably impressive for his role , and he’s able to string together dribble combinations when given the opportunity. Here ,Trey uses a in between dribble , before selling downhill with a hang dribble , and hard snatching into the step back.
Below you’ll see Murphy get a big on a reckless closeout. He attacks the defenders to foot , uses a in between dribble , a quick mini-crossover from left to right , before again using a hang dribble snatch back to create separation. Notice how lower he’s able to get his hips than his defender , and how he’s able to sell the drive and change directions by inverting his knee.
Murphy is an elite shooter in every area aside from the midrange , where his low set-point & funky energy transfer that aids his 3-point shooting , hurts him. He shot 26% on midrange dribble jumpers , and wasn’t able to juice the volume above 1 FGA/g.
The Slash
The wonky movement skills that he displays when creating separation for jumpers , translates in terms of closeout creation. He’s able to swiftly change direction with finely placed plants , explosive shin angles , and incredibly long strides. Below , you’ll see Trey attack a closeout by changing directions with an inverted knee bend , before galloping with 3 long strides and exploding off a hard plant for the dunk.
Here in transition Trey uses a hang dribble to threaten the drive , before utilizing his elongated strides to get an advantage off the bounce , and detonating at the rim. Notice the placement on each plant , Murphy is angling each step toward the basket by getting his shin parallel to the ground. His stride length , flexibility , and explosion off one foot make a finish like this possible.
This downhill ability allows for different usage than the average “ 3&D “ player. Like here, where the Pelicans run Murphy off “Chicago “ on the left wing, he’s able to get low before exploding off a right-to-left crossover, maintaining that leverage, before angling that inside leverage leg towards the rim, and hopping into the finish.
Here off the DHO , Murphy is able to get to his right hand and generate momentum with long strides. Trey uses his shoulders here to get into Shai’s chest , create space , and float it off the glass.
There’s signs to Trey being an instinctual off-ball cutter , using his spacial feel and verticality to be effective on these plays. Murphy sneaks behind OG here and does a good job ducking inside him to make himself available on the entry - but Jonas misses him. Instead , Jonas kicks to the wing and OG rotates to take away the C&S , Murphy lingers around the dunker before forcing Scottie Barnes to make a business decision.
Below Giddey sinks as Williams fronts Zion , Murphy cuts baseline and flashes middle. Trey showcases his body control , and sublime touch on this finish through Giddey.
Trey’s weakness as a cutter lies in some of his comfort in tight spaces. He’s going to have to be a lot better at playing through contact on these short-burst finishes.
Murphy’s unique combination of explosion , balance , and flexibility in a low usage role generated some insane efficiency as a finisher. My concern is that the efficiency doesn’t really match the level of talent he has as a finisher. He’s struggled in the half-court (1.06) , has been league average on drives ( 0.96) , and ranks in the 28th percentile in efficiency on dunks.
Ambitious finishing philosophy along with his smaller hands hurt his self created finishing. I think his interior scoring will forever be limited by his ball control in air , and lack of physicality aerially. To compensate he’ll have to consistently win in transition , be even more precise and active as a cutter , and most importantly develop intermediate counters.
Is this all for him ?
The scariest number in Murphy’s profile is his 16.6% USG% , because It’s unclear how much of it is opportunity versus creation tools to eat up a bigger slice of pie. Murphy’s dynamic skillset gives him a leg-up on his low-diet peers. Soon enough he’ll have to drop his gluten-free C&S for meaty PNR reps, but can he do it? Murphy’s true shooting percentage remains 65% even without Zion and Brandon Ingram , but equally important his USG% stays below 17%.
Coordinately concerning is his 1.6 assist per 75 in those minutes. Murphy’s passing arsenal is limited to extra passes out of spot-ups and even those are a rarity. I’m not saying this to be down on Murphy , but instead to question what type of player he’ll be long term. Do the star tools (long distance shooting , flexibility , and verticality ) , outmatch the limiting swing skills ( intermediate scoring , handling creativity , and importantly passing)?
We likely will not know any time soon , but until then he’s forging the path for a new type of role-player!
Great piece bro