The New Orleans Pelicans had an impressive opening-night win against Chicago, but it came with a price.
Guard Dejounte Murray — the team’s biggest offseason acquisition — will be out 4-6 weeks following surgery on his fractured left hand, the team announced. Historically, players who have had hand surgery to repair a fracture have missed an average of 17.2 games and been 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.
This is 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 on hold. Murray also had $1.9 million in incentives in his new contract tied to him playing at least 65 games, a threshold he likely now will not meet.
The injury occurred in the fourth quarter. Murray was guarding Josh Giddey, and when the Bulls’ guard drives the lane, Murray’s hand gets caught on Giddey’s jersey. Murray did not immediately come out of the game — he took an open 3, was fouled, and took his free throws, but then subbed out.
During the next few plays after this one, Murray kept grabbing his hand as he went 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 they could not trade Brandon Ingram this offseason — he stepped up into their roles on offense in the opener and scored a team-high 33 points. Ingram is going to have the ball in his hands more to open the season, which could increase his trade value — the Pelicans are not going to stop looking for a deal, particularly one that could bring them back a traditional center (even if journeyman Daniel 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 due to injury, is expected to play Friday night in Portland.
