Dejounte Murray has no ties with the Utah Jazz, but he does play for one of the very few teams ahead of them in the tanking race. Not to fret though, because his latest message on X indicates that the Pelicans intentions should vault them ahead of the Jazz soon enough.
Following his return last night, Murray posted on X about what New Orleans plans to do, and said plan makes sense because the Pelicans likely won't get their pick this year.
Duh!!! Are we a contender? No. Can we reach top 6 spot? No. Can we build some momentum playing together and build winning habits rest of the season? Yes. Can we treat every game like a championship game and win win win? Yes. Can we get in them last spots in the play in??? Duhhhhh https://t.co/NZ9tfYgrwD
— Dejounte Murray (@DejounteMurray) February 25, 2026
First of all, let's congratulate Murray for returning to the NBA with a clean bill of health after a devastating Achilles tear last year. It's a career-altering injury, so let's hope that Murray can get past it and resume his career without any setbacks.
Second, and more importantly, this fits snugly with what the Jazz want the Pelicans to do. Currently, the Jazz are a game and a half behind the Pelicans in the tanking race, but the latter has won their last two and four of their last six. It's clear that they are on the up and up, and with Murray's return, they intend to play the best basketball they can with the season entering its home stretch.
Third, the odds of the Pelicans catching the Clippers and Trail Blazers is embarrassingly low that it would be one of the biggest miracles in NBA history if they actually caught up to snag a play-in spot. Still though, from what Murray makes it sound like, New Orleans will be plaing as hard as they can from now until April.
The Jazz & Pelicans face off three times
Utah and New Orleans have three more games against each other. This includes each other's next two consecutive games, which is a back-to-back in Utah.
-February 26 (in Utah)
-February 28 (in Utah)
-April 7 (in New Orleans)
Utah already won't have Jaren Jackson Jr., Jusuf Nurkic, and likely won't have Lauri Markkanen if the latest reports on him are true. They are getting less healthy, and Murray's return makes New Orleans healthier.
The Jazz's plans and the Pelicans' plans go together like chocolate and peanut butter. Murray basically gave away what the plan is from here. Once the Pelicans put it into action, that's one less team to worry about in the tanking game, and also increases the Jazz's odds of getting (and keeping) a high lottery pick.
The odds were pretty high as is, but the fewer teams to worry about, the better. Thanks to Murray and the Pelicans, it should only get better for the Jazz.