Trey Murphy III, Derik Queen Building Promising Pelicans Duo
Logging the second-most minutes on the team together, New Orleans Pelicans star forward Trey Murphy III and rookie Derik Queen’s connection with each other has been a bright spot in what has otherwise been a taxing season for the team.
“He’s really f—ng good,” Murphy told R.org on a trip to Cleveland back in December. “Sorry to curse, but he’s really f—g good. As much as I talk s—t about him, I try to uplift him as well because what he’s doing is really special. It’s really dope.”
An All-Star-caliber modern-day forward, Murphy is a rare breed of efficiency. In the first half of the 2025-26 campaign, he’s averaged 22.8 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 1.5 steals in almost 36 minutes a night.
With an unlimited range as a spot-up three-baller, Murphy is a blistering 43.6% in catch-and-shoot triples, only behind Sam Merrill with a minimum of five attempts.
He finds gaps inside the perimeter, too, and finishes at one of the best rates in the restricted area in the league at 74.3%. Compared to those at his position with at least four tries, just Michael Porter Jr. and LeBron James are better.
Although this three-level effect isn’t anything new, his do-it-all center has helped him build on it. Murphy has benefited from 84 of Queen’s 228 total assists, far and away the most the Maryland talent has dished out among other teammates.
“I love when Derik passes me the ball,” said Murphy, cracking a wry smile as Queen listened on. “That’s one of my favorite things.”
Murphy and Queen make up one of 34 two-man combinations that have played the amount of minutes they have together (1,098). Despite the results their team has put forth, a connection is blossoming.
Queen is an offensive engine with an incredibly instinctual mind. It only took him 25 games to register his first NBA triple-double. He is a mid-post hub with a pass-first mentality and a unique flair. How many rookies in this league boast a usage of 24% that aren’t guards or forwards?
His assist percentage (23.4%) and assist-to-turnover ratio (0.98) are among the best in the NBA, according to Cleaning the Glass. The Pelicans’ effective field goal percentage dips by 2.6% when he’s off the floor, too. That’s nothing to glance over in an introductory year.
“For me, I heard a lot of rookies say before, when I was going through the process of [the draft], that the shot clock or the pace of the game is a big adjustment,” Queen told RG. “But I feel like I adapt to that quick, and then I just adapt to the game quicker. Just keep on learning. Just keep doing my work early. I feel like that’s what helped a lot.”
Over 55 games, Queen has averaged 12.2 points, 7.2 rebounds, 4.1 assists, a steal, and nearly a block per contest in 26 minutes a night, shooting 49.1% from the field.
Defensively, it’s been a work in progress. Teams are targeting him on switches in pick-and-roll situations and in isolation; the positive is that he’s allowing fewer than a point per possession on both. He’s still light on his feet, too, especially for a 6-foot-9, 250-pound big, using his hands wisely with deflections in the half-court.
NOLA has trust in its 21-year-old rookie, riding with him through the ups and downs. It’ll be interesting to see how the last 26 games shake out.
Can the Pelicans Finish Strong?
Not a lot has gone right for the Pelicans this season, to put it politely. They carry the second-worst record in the Western Conference at 15-41, they’ve had four losing streaks of at least six games straight, and they’ve stubbornly kept together a highly talented roster with conflicting timelines that hasn’t yielded consistent results.
Since suffering through the longest skid of their campaign, however, New Orleans has put together a respectable 7-10 stretch, and even the games it dropped were competitive at the very least. It’s a low bar to clear, but compared to ranking 29th in score differential last season, the team is nearly 4 points better at 25th today.
Over the last two weeks in particular, the Pelicans have been top-15 in net rating, taking care of the basketball and defending much better at top-7 levels in both categories.
A healthy Zion Williamson and reborn Saddiq Bey have played a huge part in that, along with Murphy’s remarkable contributions and the return of Herb Jones. Queen and fellow rookie Jeremiah Fears are bringing their energy to the mix to complement it.
Before his group’s nine-game plummet began in Cleveland before the holidays, Pelicans interim head coach James Borrego was adamant about not being entirely outcome-driven. On the flip side, showing that there’s proof in the pudding with wins is “important.”
“We’re human beings,” Borrego told R.org in a pregame press conference on Dec. 23. “You need a little bit of validation, like, ‘Coach, I get it now. I see it.’ But even when we were losing some games, they were close games; we were right there. We were on the edge. We just said, ‘Just stay with it, it’s gonna turn.’ It’s slowly turning.
“We’re not exactly where we want to be. I don’t want to be stuck on the results right now. I want to stay process-oriented. This is who we are, this is what we’re doing every day, stay with it, win or lose. Obviously, I like to win, though, and we all like to win, and we’ll teach from that because there’s an energy to that. Obviously, winning brings an energy, a belief, a mentality of validation to what you’re trying to do. You need that in this league. Otherwise, every day to come back and do that, it can be a little bit difficult.”
Making Strides
Murphy understands what victories can do for a struggling squad.
“Winning is what’s most important,” Murphy said. “Once you’re winning, things are a lot better and more fun. Nobody plays this game to lose. You play the game to win.”
Borrego referenced the pain of coming up short in close games as fuel: a 133-128 overtime loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, another overtime defeat, and two competitive showings against the Minnesota Timberwolves, and a one-possession loss to the San Antonio Spurs, all of which came in front of their fans at Smoothie King Center.
“But they were making strides,” Borrego said. “I’m really proud of the group that we’re getting a little bit healthier, we’re forming this identity, and now, we believe that we can win any night. That’s the goal. So if we do things the right way and we stay to our game plan, good things will happen.”
Those are just a few examples. Since Borrego took over following Willie Green’s firing, New Orleans has gone 13-31. The group has had more than its fair share of setbacks and youthful moments that have stung.
“He always tells us that he believes in us more than we believe in ourselves, so that just gives us a lot of confidence,” Queen said. “Every possession matters. Just learning from those mistakes and keep trusting each other and keep trusting the process.”
Trudging through that will be what gets the Pelicans on the other side.
“We don’t want to lose, so you learn from those feelings, and you don’t want to have that feeling again, so when you get down to the clutch, you make the right plays in order to win the game,” Murphy added.
With another opportunity to be in a head coaching position, Borrego is seeing things differently from his vantage point. He brings up taking a year off and spending time with his sons, seeing the game through their lens, and finding joy in the sport that he hopes he brings with him to the Pelicans every single day.
“I think my run in Charlotte, I lived and died with every game, win and loss, ‘Why are you doing this? Are you really enjoying it?’ You got into this to enjoy it. It’s a game,” Borrego said. “We talk about that with our team. They actually pay us to do this, to play a game. What an incredible opportunity. I think we’re all at our best when you have that youthful spirit.
“I have to check myself because sometimes, you get back in the mindset of everybody’s talking about the results, and it just adds pressure to something that is so pure. It’s just a game, and I think we’re all better as coaches, as players, when you’re enjoying the moment. You’re trusting that this is a game that we get to do and play for a living. I hope that I’m better in that area now. I’m very aware of that. And I have people in my life, which is really important, that hold me accountable to that. You’ve got to smile a little bit more. You’ve got to have a little more fun, have a little more joy, and I think that’ll rub off on our players as well.”