Southwest Notes: Murray, McGowens, J. Smith, Christie
With Dejounte Murray‘s season debut imminent, Mirin Fader of The Athletic and Rod Walker of NOLA.com both look at what has been a long road back for the Pelicans guard, whose Achilles tear in January 2025 represented the worst of his professional setbacks following a series of personal tragedies.
During the months leading up to his Achilles tear, Murray’s mother sustained a stroke, his cousin was killed, and his uncle suffered an overdose, Fader writes. Given all he was dealing with off the court, the 29-year-old was able to put the challenge of making it back from an Achilles tear into perspective, according to Walker.
“I’ve been through so much,” he said. “This is part of the journey. Injuries are a part of sports. It’s not how you fall. It’s how you get back up. For me, it was attacking the process day-by-day and staying level-headed and trying to find some positive and fun out of it.”
At 16-42, the Pelicans are well out of the postseason picture, but they also don’t control their 2026 first-round pick, so they have no incentive to lose down the stretch of the 2025/26 season. With that in mind, head coach James Borrego is looking forward to welcoming Murray back to the rotation and seeing what kind of impact the former All-Star guard will have on his teammates and the club as a whole.
“Dejounte will raise our level,” Borrego said, per Walker. “… He’s worked his tail off, so there’s probably a little bit of relief of ‘I’m finally back.’ But more than anything, I just want him to go out there and compete and embrace the moment and be there with his teammates.”
We have more from around the Southwest:
- The new three-year contract signed by Pelicans wing Bryce McGowens is fully guaranteed through the 2026/27 season, tweets Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, with a team option for ’27/28. New Orleans used $724,598 of its mid-level exception to promote McGowens from his two-way deal and to lock him up for two more seasons beyond this one.
- Former No. 2 overall pick Jabari Smith Jr., whose new five-year, $122MM rookie scale extension will go into effect this July, has been showing in recent weeks why the Rockets signed him to that deal, as Matt Young of The Houston Chronicle writes (subscription required). Smith’s 31-point outing vs. Utah on Monday increased his scoring average over the past 10 games to 18.6 PPG on .550/.483/.833 shooting. “The last month or so, I think Jabari has been catching his rhythm, understanding more his role,” teammate Kevin Durant said. “I know guys have been here for a while but it’s still a different team from last year, so guys got to understand their roles a little bit more and I think ‘Bari has just stepped into his position and been great for us the last month.”
- Mavericks swingman Max Christie spoke to Mark Medina of EssentiallySports about a variety of topics, including not being included in the three-point contest, why he thinks Cooper Flagg should be Rookie of the Year, and the impact Kyrie Irving has had on the team despite not playing this season. Christie also told Mike Curtis of The Dallas Morning News (subscription required) that he wants to put an exclamation point on what has already been a career year. “I just want to play better for the last 26 games than I did for the first 51,” said Christie, who has averaged a career-high 13.3 points per game on .469/.427/.871 shooting. “If you look at it from a statistical standpoint, if I could bump those (per-game) averages up a little bit, that would be successful for me. … I’ve been shooting it well from the two and the three, but I think if I’m willing to sacrifice a little bit of percentage for volume, I think that can be a good building block for me. Obviously, not going crazy but just looking to try and improve.”
Pelicans Sign Bryce McGowens To Three-Year Deal
3:15 pm: McGowens’ conversion is now official, the Pelicans announced in a press release (Twitter link).
12:24 pm: The Pelicans and two-way wing Bryce McGowens have reached an agreement on a new three-year standard contract, agents Kyle McAlarney and Mark Bartelstein tell ESPN’s Shams Charania (Twitter link).
McGowens, 23, has averaged 7.9 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in 19.9 minutes per game this season at the NBA level. He has made 11 starts for the Pelicans and has scored efficiently in his limited role, shooting 48.0% from the floor and 45.3% from beyond the three-point line.
Prior to signing a two-way contract with New Orleans last summer, McGowens appeared in 118 games for the Hornets and Trail Blazers from 2022-25, recording 4.8 PPG and 1.7 RPG in 14.4 MPG. The 6’6″ shooting guard was the 40th overall pick in the 2022 draft out of Nebraska.
McGowens still had the ability to appear in up to nine more regular season games before reaching his limit as a two-way player, but the Pelicans, with an open spot on their 15-man roster, decided not to wait to promote him to a standard deal.
While the details of that contract aren’t yet known, the fact that it’ll cover three years suggests the team will use part of its mid-level exception to complete the signing.
The transaction will open up a two-way slot for New Orleans alongside Trey Alexander and Hunter Dickinson.
Blazers’ Cissoko Latest Two-Way Player To Reach Active Game Limit
Several teams will head into the NBA’s All-Star break with roster decisions to make before their schedules resume next week. One of those teams in the Trail Blazers, who deployed two-way player Sidy Cissoko for his 50th game of the season on Thursday in Utah.
Cissoko, who made his 24th start of the season and played 30 minutes in Portland’s win over the Jazz, has now reached the active game limit for two-way players and will no longer be able to suit up for the NBA team unless he’s promoted from his two-way contract to the Blazers’ standard 15-man roster.
Cissoko is one of several players in that boat, along with Nuggets forward Spencer Jones, Timberwolves guard Johnny Juzang, and Sixers forward Jabari Walker. All four two-way players have been active for 50 NBA games this season.
Cissoko and Jones have emerged as key contributors for their respective teams and will likely be promoted to standard contracts sooner rather than later. The Nuggets might have taken that route with Jones already if not for the concussion that sidelined him for the final three games before the All-Star break, which allowed the team to put off an official roster move for an extra couple weeks.
Denver has two openings on its 15-man roster, so no corresponding move will be necessary to promote Jones, making the club’s decision even more straightforward.
That’s not the case in Portland though, where one of the team’s 15 players currently holding standard contracts will need to be cut if the Blazers want to promote Cissoko. If the team decides to convert both Cissoko and its other standout two-way player, Caleb Love (who is at 45 active games), two cuts would be required. Rayan Rupert and Matisse Thybulle have been mentioned as possible odd men out, but that’s not necessarily a given.
There’s less urgency for certain other teams whose two-way players have reached – or are fast approaching – their active game limits. For instance, while Juzang has been active for 50 games this season, he only actually saw the floor in 21 of them — he was a DNP-CD in the other 29. As such, it’s perhaps no surprise that the Wolves haven’t rushed to promote him to the standard roster. Juzang was on the inactive list for Minnesota’s last three games prior to the All-Star break.
Rockets two-way guard JD Davison is another player nearing his 50-game limit (he has five games left), but like Juzang, he hasn’t been a crucial part of his team’s rotation when he’s active. Davison has appeared in 24 games and been a DNP-CD in 21 others. With that in mind, Houston may not be in a rush to move him to the 15-man roster when he gets to his game limit.
It’s also worth noting that promoting a two-way player or leaving him in limbo aren’t the only two options a team has at its disposal after he reaches his active game limit. When two-way player Chris Youngblood found himself in that situation last week, the Thunder decided to waive him, recognizing that there was no room for him on their 15-man roster and wanting to give him the chance to explore other opportunities before the end of the season.
Mavericks guard Ryan Nembhard (six games left) and center Moussa Cisse (eight games left), Wizards big man Tristan Vukcevic (nine games left), Pelicans guard Bryce McGowens (nine games left), and Suns guard Jamaree Bouyea (10 games left) are among the other notable two-way players whose teams will have roster decisions to make in the coming weeks.
The full list of players who have already been converted from two-way deals to standard contracts can be found here.
Pelicans Waive Dalen Terry
The Pelicans have requested waivers on guard/forward Dalen Terry, the team announced on Friday (Twitter link via Will Guillory of The Athletic).
New Orleans just acquired Terry (and two second-round picks) on Thursday in the trade that sent Jose Alvarado to New York. The Knicks landed Terry in a separate deal with Chicago.
The 18th overall pick in the 2022 draft after two college seasons at Arizona, Terry never developed into a reliable rotation player in his three-and-a-half years with the Bulls. The 6’6″ wing has appeared in 34 games in 2025/26, averaging 3.5 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 11.1 minutes per contest.
Assuming Terry goes unclaimed, which seems highly likely, the Pelicans will carry a dead-money cap hit of $5,399,118. They also opened a spot on their standard roster, and Guillory suggests the team plans to promote Bryce McGowens from his two-way contract.
Still just 23 years old, Terry could be a candidate to catch on with another team before the season ends. For what it’s worth, he would qualify for a two-way deal that covers the remainder of ’25/26 once he hits free agency and is eligible to sign with any team except the Knicks.
Pelicans Rumors: Draft, Missi, Morant, Murray, Alvarado, More
Acquiring a 2026 first-round pick is a priority for the Pelicans as the trade deadline approaches, Will Guillory of The Athletic writes, confirming reporting from ClutchPoints and The Stein Line. New Orleans would like to continue adding to its young core but no longer controls a ’26 first-rounder after trading its own pick to Atlanta last June for Derik Queen.
With the Pelicans resistant to moving Zion Williamson, Trey Murphy III, and Herbert Jones, their best bet to acquire that 2026 first-rounder they’re seeking might be making a Yves Missi deal. But it’s not a foregone conclusion that the second-year center will be on the move in the next seven days — Guillory says New Orleans still believe in Missi’s upside and wouldn’t mind experimenting more with a frontcourt that features him playing alongside Queen.
Still, according to Guillory, there have been “whispers” throughout the season about Missi’s desire to be in a situation where he could be a full-time starter. The 21-year-old made 67 starts for New Orleans as a rookie but has primarily come off the bench this season.
Guillory suggests that the Pelicans’ ability to extract a first-round pick for Missi could come into focus within the next week as it becomes clearer which centers around the NBA will and won’t be on the move at the deadline.
Here’s more on the Pelicans:
- A rumor about the Grizzlies sending Ja Morant to New Orleans in a deal centered around Jordan Poole and Dejounte Murray is “completely false,” Guillory says, adding that the Pelicans aren’t likely to pursue Morant since they view Jeremiah Fears as their long-term point guard. Still, Poole and Murray are both considered potential trade candidates and there’s a sense that New Orleans would like to move at least one of them, Guillory notes. He also hears, as ClutchPoints reported on Wednesday, that Murray and his representatives may prefer a change of scenery.
- There’s no shortage of suitors for Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado, says Guillory, adding the Spurs to the list of teams with interest. But sources familiar with Alvarado’s thinking have conveyed to The Athletic that the 27-year-old would prefer to remain in New Orleans.
- Both the Pelicans and Jordan Hawkins would be open to the possibility of finding the former lottery pick a new NBA home, Guillory reports. Hawkins is playing a career-low 14.1 minutes per game off the bench this season and is averaging just 4.3 points per game on .320/.301/.778 shooting.
- The Pelicans are “big believers” in two-way player Bryce McGowens and would like to make room on the 15-man roster to promote him to a multiyear standard contract, Guillory writes. The club currently has a full roster but could open up a spot as a result of its deadline moves.
Southwest Notes: Zion, McGowens, Morant, Castle, Harper
Zion Williamson came off the bench Sunday as he returned to action after missing the previous five games with a right hip adductor strain, writes Matt Carlson of The Associated Press. It was the first time Williamson hasn’t started in his NBA career, but he was on a minutes limit and Pelicans interim coach James Borrego wanted to make sure he was available for crunch time.
“It was a game plan that allowed me to close the game, with my body being used to playing certain minutes of a quarter,” Williamson said. “So you know he walked me through it. I didn’t have a problem with it because it allowed me to close the game. The rhythm did feel pretty good, but most of all I’m glad we got the win.”
Injuries have been a recurring problem for Williamson, who has missed 16 games already this season with four separate issues. He can still be a difference maker when he’s healthy — he’s averaging 21.7 points, 5.6 rebounds and 3.8 assists per night — and New Orleans will need to keep him in the lineup to recover from a 5-22 start.
“Injuries suck, there’s no other way to put it,” he said. “Rehabbing’s not fun either. But over the summer, me putting that work in my body, it allows me — if something does happen — it’s nothing that keeps me out a super, long time. I’m able to rehab at a faster but more efficient rate.”
There’s more from the Southwest Division:
- Bryce McGowens has been a pleasant surprise after joining the Pelicans on a two-way contract during the summer, observes Rod Walker of NOLA.com (subscription required). The fourth-year shooting guard is trying to reestablish himself as an NBA regular after having some success in Charlotte early in his career, and he’s been seeing consistent minutes in New Orleans. “I’m super blessed to be in this position of being in an organization that believes and trusts and puts me in situations,” McGowens said. “It feels good. I work hard. The coaches know me. My job is to get after it and do whatever the team needs me to do so we can win.”
- Grizzlies guard Ja Morant had 21 points and 10 assists as he returned to the court Friday night, per Clay Bailey of The Associated Press. Morant felt a need to take charge of the offense after missing 10 games with a right calf strain, but he shot just 7-of-20 from the field and committed four turnovers in a little more than 25 minutes. “I was forced to get some shots up,” he said. “Some of them, I should have been to the free throw line. Some I missed. Some of them I made. I can’t change it. I just got to live with it.”
- After attending Saturday’s NBA Cup semifinal games, Spurs legend Tony Parker came away impressed with young guards Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper, according to Mike Finger of The San Antonio Express-News (subscription required). “They’re so fearless,” Parker said. “That’s how I was. That’s how Manu (Ginobili) was.”
Pelicans Notes: Injuries, Peavy, McGowens, Borrego
Seven Pelicans — including their five highest-paid players — are out for Sunday’s game at the Lakers, per Will Guillory of The Athletic (Twitter links).
In addition to Dejounte Murray (right Achilles rupture), Jordan Poole (left quad strain), Karlo Matkovic (right calf strain) and Herbert Jones, who have all missed multiple games with their respective injuries, Jordan Hawkins will be unavailable for his second straight contest due to an illness, as will Trey Murphy III, who is battling right elbow soreness.
The seventh Pelican out tonight is star forward Zion Williamson, who is missing the second game of a back-to-back after the Pelicans lost at Golden State on Saturday. Williamson’s designation is left hamstring injury management — he missed eight games earlier this month with a Grade 1 left hamstring strain.
Here’s more on the Pelicans:
- Second-round pick Micah Peavy and fourth-year wing Bryce McGowens have been taking on challenging defensive assignments recently with Jones sidelined, writes Rod Walker of NOLA.com. “That’s what I want to do,” said Peavy, who finished Monday’s game with 10 points, three rebounds, two assists and four steals in 20 minutes. “Herb is a great defender. And I want to be known as a great defender in this league. I take on that challenge of guarding the best player, especially when Herb’s out. I think I’m doing a pretty good job.” McGowens is on a two-way contract with New Orleans, while Peavy signed a multiyear standard deal after being selected No. 40 overall in June’s draft.
- The Pelicans are just 1-7 since James Borrego took over as interim head coach following the dismissal of Willie Green, who was fired after a 2-10 start. However, the team has shown signs of progress, namely being more competitive in its losses, according to Walker. “As a competitor, I want us to win and I want us to make every shot,” Borrego said. “The results can overwhelm you at times. The best organizations I’ve been a part of are process-driven. They have an identity and they know what they believe in. They know what shots they are trying to create, whether they go in or not. Trust that this is where we need to go and the results will take care of themselves. We are getting closer to that. We are not near where we need to be, but we are getting close.”
- Players have been pleased with Borrego’s performance thus far, Walker adds in the same story. “I know he’s in a tough spot with everything that went on,” Williamson said. “He’s been doing a great job finding our identity for the team. The guys are behind him. The staff is behind him. We’re with him.”
Pelicans Sign Bryce McGowens To Two-Way Contract
July 31: McGowens’ two-way contract with the Pelicans is now official, the team announced in a press release.
July 30: The Pelicans are signing free agent guard Bryce McGowens to a new two-way deal, his Priority Sports agents Kyle McAlarney and Mark Bartelstein tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).
McGowens has split his three previous NBA seasons between the Hornets and Trail Blazers.
The Nebraska swingman inked a two-way deal with Charlotte as a rookie in 2022/23, toggling between Charlotte and its NBAGL affiliate, the Greensboro Swarm. His contract was converted to a multiyear standard deal midway through that first pro season. In 105 combined regular season bouts for the Hornets across two years, he averaged 5.2 PPG, 1.9 RPG, and 1.0 APG, with a shooting line of .419/.330/.764.
Charlotte cut McGowens in the summer of 2024, and he subsequently agreed to a two-way deal with the Blazers. The 6’7″ wing played a limited role at the NBA level for Portland, averaging just 2.5 MPG across 13 outings.
Still just 22, McGowens put up impressive numbers for the Rip City Remix, Portland’s NBAGL affiliate, in 2024/25. Across 16 regular season bouts, he averaged 29.3 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 3.4 APG, 1.5 SPG and 0.8 BPG on .487/.330/.806 shooting. A right rib fracture cut his season short.
McGowens will join fellow two-way signings Trey Alexander and Hunter Dickinson in New Orleans.
2024/25 All-NBA G League Teams Announced
In a series of tweets, the NBA has announced the three All-NBA G League teams for the 2024/25 season. Here’s the full list of honorees:
First Team
- JD Davison, Maine Celtics ^
- Oscar Tshiebwe, Salt Lake City Stars (Jazz‘s affiliate) *
- Mac McClung, Osceola Magic *
- Jaylen Nowell, Capital City Go-Go (Wizards‘ affiliate)
- Malachi Flynn, Austin Spurs
Second Team
- Mason Jones, Stockton Kings *
- Elijah Harkless, Salt Lake City Stars *
- Bryce McGowens, Rip City Remix (Trail Blazers‘ affiliate) *
- Moses Brown, Westchester Knicks
- Drew Timme, Long Island Nets ^
Third Team
- Chuma Okeke, Westchester Knicks ~
- T.J. Warren, Westchester Knicks
- Trey Alexander, Grand Rapids Gold (Nuggets‘ affiliate) *
- Josh Christopher, Sioux Falls Skyforce (Heat‘s affiliate) *
- Isaac Jones, Stockton Kings ^
* Denotes two-way contract
^ Denotes standard contract
~ On a standard contract with the Cavaliers
While each player selected has some level of NBA experience, four of them — Flynn, Nowell, Brown and Warren — are currently free agents. Of that group, only Warren didn’t appear in an NBA regular season game during the ’24/25 campaign.
Davison, Tshiebwe and Nowell finished first, second and third in voting (in that order) for this season’s G League Most Valuable Player award, so it’s no surprise that they made the First Team. McClung, who was the league’s 2023/24 MVP, helped Osceola make the NBAGL Finals this spring, with the final spot going to former Pistons guard Flynn, who signed a 10-day contract with Charlotte last month.
Mason Jones recently helped Stockton win its first G League title, earning Finals MVP in the process. He’s joined on the Second Team by NBAGL Most Improved Player Harkless, McGowens, Brown, and Timme.
Former first-round pick Okeke signed a pair of 10-day contracts with Philadelphia before signing with Cleveland ahead of the playoffs. NBA veteran Warren, G League Rookie of the Year Alexander, Heat two-way guard Christopher, and Kings big man Jones round out the Third Team.
Davison and Isaac Jones were promoted from two-way deals to standard contracts at the end of the season. Timme was an NBA free agent before Brooklyn gave him a two-year standard contract in March due to his strong play in the NBAGL.
Trail Blazers’ Bryce McGowens Fractures Rib, Out For Season
Trail Blazers two-way player Bryce McGowens fractured his right rib during a game with Portland’s G League affiliate squad, the Rip City Remix, the Trail Blazers announced on Wednesday (Twitter link).
According to the team, the injury will sideline McGowens for the rest of the 2024/25 season. Portland expects him to make a full recovery.
McGowens has made a bigger impression with the Remix than he did with the Trail Blazers. In 16 regular season bouts with Portland’s NBAGL affiliate, he finishes the year with averages of 29.3 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 3.4 APG, 1.5 SPG and 0.8 BPG. He has a shooting line of .487/.330/.806.
Across 13 contests with Portland proper this season, the 6’7″ wing played just 32 total minutes, scoring 13 points on 4-of-14 shooting.
McGowens had a larger role last season as a member of the Hornets, appearing in 59 games (14 starts) and averaging 5.1 PPG and 1.7 RPG in 14.9 MPG.
Because his two-way contract only covers the ’24/25 season, McGowens will be eligible for restricted free agency this offseason if Portland issues him a two-way qualifying offer.