{"id":595538,"date":"2026-02-10T23:31:22","date_gmt":"2026-02-10T23:31:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/595538\/"},"modified":"2026-02-10T23:31:22","modified_gmt":"2026-02-10T23:31:22","slug":"southwest-notes-murray-mavs-middleton-jones-pippen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/595538\/","title":{"rendered":"Southwest Notes: Murray, Mavs, Middleton, Jones, Pippen"},"content":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s still no timeline for Dejounte Murray<\/a>\u2018s return to action following last season\u2019s Achilles tear, but the Pelicans guard has returned to practice in a limited capacity, according to head coach James Borrego (Twitter video link<\/a>). Borrego told reporters on Monday that Murray\u2019s activity should ramp up in the coming days and the team will have a better idea of a timetable for the veteran guard after the All-Star break.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just great having him out there. I\u2019m so proud of him,\u201d Borrego said. \u201cI mean, what a devastating injury, but the way he\u2019s handle it, the way he\u2019s attacked it, he deserves a ton of credit. \u2026 It\u2019s just great to have him back out there. You can feel his presence, his leadership, his confidence. It\u2019s a massive boost for this organization.\u201d<\/p>\n

Murray, who was traded from Atlanta to New Orleans during the 2024 offseason, appeared in just 31 games for his new team before his season came to an early end. When he\u2019s ready to play again, he\u2019ll be a returning to a new-look Pelicans backcourt that has lost CJ McCollum<\/a> and Jose Alvarado<\/a> and added Jordan Poole<\/a> and Jeremiah Fears<\/a> since the last time he suited up.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s more from across the Southwest:<\/p>\n

While the Mavericks signaled at the trade deadline that they\u2019re pivoting to build around Cooper Flagg<\/a>, the rookie forward isn\u2019t the only keeper on the current roster. Co-interim general manager Matt Riccardi said after the trade deadline that he thinks wings Naji Marshall<\/a> and Max Christie<\/a> fit \u201cperfectly\u201d alongside Flagg, according to Mike Curtis of The Dallas Morning News<\/a> (subscription required). \u201cWe really like them as players,\u201d Riccardi said. \u201cWe think they fit really well around Cooper, but most importantly, those guys embody what we want in the organization. We love what they bring to the table, both on and off the court, and their personalities. They\u2019re Dallas Maverick players.\u201d
\nNew Mavericks forward Khris Middleton<\/a> has been viewed as a potential buyout candidate after being sent from Washington to Dallas for salary-matching purposes in the Anthony Davis<\/a> trade. However, he told reporters \u2013 including Curtis (Twitter video link<\/a>) \u2013 on Tuesday that he hasn\u2019t broached that subject with the team and doesn\u2019t necessarily plan to. \u201cNah, not yet,\u201d Middleteon said when asked if he\u2019s spoken to management about what he wants for the rest of the season. \u201cWe haven\u2019t got to that point. Don\u2019t know that we will. But my focus right now is just playing basketball.\u201d
\nLeague sources tell Grant Afseth of Dallas Hoops Journal<\/a> that the Mavericks made a point to add Tyus Jones<\/a> at the trade deadline because they feel like his experience organizing an offense and handling the ball will help ease the workload on the rest of the roster. As Afseth explains, the front office is hoping that Jones will stabilize the offense, not transform it.
\nGrizzlies guard Scotty Pippen Jr.<\/a> appeared in 79 games last season, but he was never at 100%. As Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal<\/a> writes, Pippen was plagued for more than three years by left toe pain that never went away. After various treatment options failed, the guard underwent a sesamoidectomy in October that delayed his season debut until last Friday. Pippen, who has 24 points, 10 assists, five steals, and a .643\/.667\/1.000 shooting line in his first two games back, is optimistic that the issue is \u2013 at long last \u2013 behind him. \u201cI feel like I\u2019m finally healthy,\u201d he said. \u201c\u2026 I feel way better. I\u2019m able to run up and down the court. I can run around without pain. I can push off my toe and and bend my toe. Before, I wasn\u2019t able to get in a lunge position. I really couldn\u2019t put weight on my foot.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There\u2019s still no timeline for Dejounte Murray\u2018s return to action following last season\u2019s Achilles tear, but the Pelicans…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":112229,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3793],"tags":[7,225,686,149,4057,2878,2039,166,7139,5989,6,627,6279],"class_list":{"0":"post-595538","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dallas-mavericks","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-cooper-flagg","10":"tag-dallas","11":"tag-dallas-mavericks","12":"tag-dallasmavericks","13":"tag-dejounte-murray","14":"tag-khris-middleton","15":"tag-mavericks","16":"tag-max-christie","17":"tag-naji-marshall","18":"tag-nba","19":"tag-scotty-pippen-jr","20":"tag-tyus-jones"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116048945946032040","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/595538","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=595538"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/595538\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/112229"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=595538"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=595538"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=595538"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}