Pelicans sign Trey Murphy III to rookie contract

The Pelicans have officially signed No. 17 overall pick Trey Murphy III to his rookie-scale contract, according to the team’s NBA Transactions page.

The 21-year-old wing was selected by the Pelicans after New Orleans traded back from the 10th pick, and was a highly coveted wing prospect in the middle of the first round due to his combination of athleticism, size, defense and shooting.

After transferring from Rice University to Virginia, Murphy averaged 11.3 PPG and 3.4 RPG while posting a hyper-efficient 43.3/50.3/92.7 shooting line. While there were questions about Murphy’s ability to create his own shot, for a Pelicans team desperate for shooting and defense, he was a perfect fit.

Murphy had maybe the most impressive rookie debut of the Las Vegas Summer League on Monday, putting up 26 points, nine rebounds, two assists, and no turnovers while shooting six of nine from three, all in just over 27 minutes.

As our breakdown of 2021 rookie salaries shows, assuming Murphy signs for 120% of his rookie-scale amount, his four-year contract should be worth about $14.8 million, with a first-year salary of $3.05 million.