Trey Murphy III and Pelicans agree to a 4-year, $112M deal, AP source says

New Orleans Pelicans forward Trey Murphy III has agreed to a four-year, $112 million contract extension, a person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press on Monday.

Murphy is entering the final season of his rookie contract. Without the extension, he’d have been slated to become a restricted free agent next offseason. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the Pelicans did not announce the extension.

The 24-year-old Murphy, a 2021 first-round draft choice out of Virginia, averaged a career-high 14.8 points last season, when he played in 57 games with 23 starts.

He has shot 39.2% from 3-point range during his three seasons and has shown a knack for slashing to the hoop for the kind of soaring, authoritative dunks that have gotten him a past invitation to the NBA All-Star weekend dunk contest.

Murphy strained his right hamstring during the second practice of Pelicans training camp in Nashville earlier this month.

He is not expected to be ready to play when New Orleans opens the regular season against Chicago on Wednesday.

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Brett Martel, The Associated Press