The New Orleans Pelicans had an impressive opening night win against Chicago, but it came at a price.
Guard Dejounte Murray – the team’s biggest offseason acquisition – will be out 4-6 weeks after surgery on his broken left hand, announced the team. Historically, players who had hand surgery to repair a fracture missed an average of 17.2 games and were out 40.5 days (which fits the 4-6 week timeline), reports Jeff Stotts of In Street Clothes. That timeline has Murray back in early December.
That’s a setback for a Pelicans team that thought they would spend the first part of the season building chemistry with Murray and a changed roster. Now that process is stopped. Murray also had $1.9 million in incentives in his new contract tied to him playing at least 65 games, a threshold he likely won’t meet now.
The injury occurred in the fourth quarter. Murray was guarding Josh Giddey, and as the Bulls guard drives the lane, Murray’s hand is caught on Giddey’s jersey. Murray didn’t get out of the game right away – he took an open 3, got knocked down, and took his free throws, but then laid down.
For the next few plays after this one, Murray kept grabbing his hand when he got back on defense.
– Will Guillory (@WillGuillory) October 24, 2024
With Murray and Trey Murphy III (hamstring) both out to open the season, the Pelicans caught a break in the fact that they couldn’t trade Brandon Ingram this offseason — he stepped up into his offense roles in the opener and scored a team-high. 33 points. Ingram will have the ball in his hands more to open the season, which could increase his trade value – the Pelicans will not stop looking for a deal, especially one that could bring them back a traditional center (even if Daniel is a journeyman). Theis and rookie Yves Missi stepped up and played well in that role in the opening night win).
In other Pelicans news, Zion Williamson, who missed the Pelicans’ opener with an injury, is expected to play Friday night in Portland.
