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New Orleans Pelicans guard Dejounte Murray is reportedly expected to miss at least a month of action after suffering a hand injury during the Pels’ 123-111, season-opening win over the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday.
According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, Murray underwent successful surgery on his fractured left hand and will be out for four to six weeks.
New Orleans acquired Murray from the Atlanta Hawks during the offseason in exchange for two first-round picks, Dyson Daniels, Larry Nance Jr., Cody Zeller and E.J. Liddell.
Murray appeared to suffer the injury late in his regular-season debut with the Pelicans when he was fouled by Bulls wing Zach LaVine on a three-point attempt.
He stayed in the game to make two of his three free throws but was subbed out after that and did not return to the floor for the final two minutes of the game.
Murray, 28, is widely regarded as one of the best perimeter defenders in the NBA, as he was a member of the 2017-18 NBA All-Defensive Second Team and led the league in steals per game in 2021-22.
Originally selected 29th overall in the 2016 NBA draft out of Washington, Murray spent his first six years in the NBA with the San Antonio Spurs.
It was with the Spurs in 2021-22 that he earned the only All-Star selection of his career thus far, as he averaged 21.1 points and a career-high 9.2 assists, 8.3 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game.
The Spurs traded Murray to the Hawks prior to the 2022-23 season, as Atlanta hoped to create one of the most dynamic backcourts in the league between Murray and Trae Young.
Both players delivered statistically, but the Hawks had a losing record during their two seasons together and made only one playoff appearance, losing in the first round.
Still, Murray was a desirable trade target during the offseason after he averaged a career-best 22.5 points per game last season to go along with 6.4 assists, 5.3 rebounds, 2.6 three-pointers made and 1.4 steals.
Murray made a positive first impression with the Pelicans by nearly recording a triple-double against the Bulls, as he finished with 14 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds in 30 minutes.
While Murray is out, the likes of CJ McCollum, Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram figure to be the Pelicans’ go-to guys on the offensive end.
In terms of who will start in Murray’s place, point guard Jose Alvarado is the leading candidate since he has played a significant role with the team for the past three seasons and is strong defensively, averaging 1.2 steals per game for his career.
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