Lance Stephenson will be re-evaluated after the Pelicans announced Saturday he suffered a groin injury and would need surgery, and the expectation is for the shooting guard/small forward to miss weeks — not days, a source told Justin Verrier of ESPN.com.
The Pelicans are 0-6 and are already without Jrue Holiday (personal), Tyreke Evans (right knee) and Quincy Pondexter (left knee). They can apply for an injury hardship waiver, which allows a team to temporarily add a 16th player to the roster, but New Orleans is currently unlikely to do that, according to Verrier.
Stephenson’s contract is for the minimum, but is only guaranteed for $100K. Stephenson, who won a roster spot after the preseason, has averaged 9.7 points and 4.8 assists in 27 minutes per game during the team’s six contests this season.
Sad. This is why the pelicans are constantly plagued with injury. Terrible karma.