The Pelicans and their fans have been waiting for new guard Dejounte Murray to make his debut and the possibility exists that he could do that at the start of the NBA season.
But the possibility exists he may not do it, too.
Per New Orleans coach Willie Green, Murray missed practice because of a family emergency. So Murray’s status for Wednesday’s opener vs. the visiting Bulls is very much up in the air, it seems.
“We’re hopeful” Murray will play, Green said, via Christian Clark of NOLA.com.
The Pelicans are among the teams that think they can be darkhorse contenders this season, and the Murray acquisition is a big reason why. He was landed in a trade with the Hawks with the idea of helping get the likes of Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram, CJ McCollum and the rest over the top.
Murray missing one game, of course, won’t be a hindrance toward that end, and the main hope here is that everything is OK.
“The Murray acquisition means the Pelicans’ days of a point-guard-by-committe approach are over. Murray will assume that role,” Clark wrote. “The 27-year-old is owed $90.9 million over the next three seasons, a reasonable number for a one-time All-Star just entering his prime years.”
One of the top two-way players in the NBA, Murray averaged 22.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, 6.4 assists, 1.4 steals and 0.3 blocks with the Hawks last season, shooting 45.9% from the field, 36.3% on 3-pointers and 79.4% from the free-throw line.
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