Yahoo Sports: Where Sports Fans Find Their Fix

The New Orleans Pelicans have made a significant move on the day of the rookie extension deadline, securing one of their promising young talents. ESPN's Shams Charania broke the news that Trey Murphy III has inked a lucrative four-year, $112 million contract extension with the Pelicans. The agreement, as reported by Christian Clark of NOLA.com, is expected to kick in during the 2025-26 season and notably does not include a player option for Murphy.

Murphy, 24, was taken by the Pels with the 17th overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. He's an athletic 3-point sharpshooter who has the right skill set to fit with Zion Williamson, Herb Jones and Dejounte Murray, especially as his defense has continued to improve every season. Over the 2023-24 season, Murphy averaged 14.8 points and 4.9 rebounds per game, shooting 44.3% from the floor and 38% on 3-pointers.

Murphy is the fifth player from the 2021 draft to sign a rookie-scale extension prior to the 6 p.m. ET Monday deadline. Cade Cunningham of the Detroit Pistons, Evan Mobley of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Scottie Barnes of the Toronto Raptors and Franz Wagner of the Orlando Magic all signed their rookie max extension deals in July.