Dejounte Murray’s comments indicate a big change that Pelicans fans have been waiting for

It’s been a brutal season for the New Orleans Pelicans, who are ranked 16-42 without a first-round pick, leaving fans little reason for optimism. Although this season appears to be a flop, the team’s final 24 games will undoubtedly be exciting with the return of former All-Star guard Dejounte Murray. The 29-year-old spoke to the media for the first time beforehand his return Tuesdayafter suffering a ruptured Achilles tendon at the end of January.

During his media presence, Murray talked about how, despite the team’s status, he wanted to make his return to the field for the fans and the city. He says he could sit there for the rest of the season and say he’s not playing, but he wants to “represent New Orleans.”

We saw Saturday night that what all Pelicans fans want when they buy their tickets for Smoothie King Center is a fun, competitive game, and Murray’s time to is evident from today’s media he understands that.

Murray’s return could help the Pelicans flip the switch

Ultimately, none of this matters if Murray doesn’t back it up on the floor. But his comments indicate the kind of mentality the Pelicans have lacked at times this season. Sure, this team won’t go undefeated the rest of the way and reach the play-in tournament, but Murray’s return could be the change in this team’s mentality.

We’ve seen a few nights where the Pelicans go to bed early or get off to a bad start at the beginning of the quarters, and that’s it, they throw in the towel. But with Murray returning, this team has a player who won’t let such things happen.

He has that Jose Alvarado type energy where he refuses to let games drift. When the Pelicans’ opponents are going on a 10-0 run, he’s the type of guy who will pick up the ball full court just to shift the energy of the game. And we saw exactly what kind of energy and impact Alvarado could have in bench minutes. Now imagine that energy from the team’s starting point guard, who has a career average of 15.3 points, 5.8 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game.

This is a young team. A young team that many people, including myself, had unrealistic expectations coming into this season. With Murray returning, this young group now has a leader and a player who will set the tone for this team by bringing winning energy every time he steps on the field.