Pelicans wing Trey Murphy III suffered a meniscus tear in his left knee on Tuesday, leaving New Orleans without one of its most crucial role players.
The Pelicans have “significant concern” about Murphy’s injury given his status as a staple of New Orleans’ rotation, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported Wednesday via NBA Today (Twitter link). Wojnarowski goes on to say that Murphy has “at least a slight tear” in his meniscus and is undergoing further evaluation to determine what procedure he needs.
The severity of the injury is still to be determined, with Wojnarowski saying Murphy could, in the best-case scenario, be back around the start of the regular season. There are also scenarios in which it may be months before Murphy takes the court.
[UPDATE: Trey Murphy Undergoes Surgery On Left Meniscus]
Murphy, who averaged 14.5 points on 40.6% shooting from three last year, being out is a massive loss for a Pelicans team that seems to continually be dealing with health issues. This latest injury leaves New Orleans with both lineup and existential questions, writes Will Guillory of The Athletic.
Guillory echoes Wojnarowski’s report that if the damage is minimal, the third-year wing could face a recovery time of about six-to-eight weeks. Pelicans stars Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson have combined to appear in 199 games over the past two seasons (out of a possible 328), and Guillory writes that their absences are a huge reason the Pelicans have been unable to take a step forward in a deep Western Conference.
Muprhy was one of the NBA’s most improved players last year, jumping from 5.4 points on 39.4% shooting in 13.9 minutes per game off the bench to 14.5 points on 48.4% shooting in 31.0 minutes (65 starts). As Guillory writes, not only did Murphy’s numbers improve, but his confidence and ability to score in transition put him on another level.
As Ingram and Williamson continue to get healthier ahead of the 2023/24 season, Murphy looked like the perfect fit between the two as a defensive specialist capable of stretching the floor at a high level. Without Murphy, Guillory expects Naji Marshall and Dyson Daniels to pick up some minutes because of their defensive resumes, and that 2023 first-round pick Jordan Hawkins could help offset some of the shooting lost from the Murphy injury.
Guillory also writes that the Pelicans’ medical staff continues to be under a spotlight, with many injuries and longer-than-expected recovery timelines for said players. In order for the Pelicans to truly take the next step as an organization, Guillory writes, they will have to better communicate with the fan base and media about the recovery timelines of injured players.
As I said previously, he is pretty much their only 3 and D true wing
New Orleans and the Heat have had crazy injury issues/luck the last 10 years. They cant buy health to save their lives
Herb Jones
Jones has got the D part down, still needs a little work on the 3 part. He’s young though and develop a better jumper.
@Sankara: Herb Jones shoots 33.5% from 3. League average is 36.1%. So he’s definitely not a 3 and D guy.
Brandon Ingram?
Can’t help but think this is their last run with this core. Paying McCollum what they are is unacceptable if they’re less than a 6 seed which is almost a certainty.
The key for the Pelicans is health. If both Zion and Ingram are healthy they can be just as good as any other top team. The bench is a little thin but they have the draft picks to fix it.
Enter Kelly Oubre?