New Orleans Pelicans small forward Trey Murphy III suffered a meniscus injury in his left knee during a workout on September 5, according to NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
Murphy III will undergo testing to determine if he needs surgery.
Murphy III appeared in 79 games for the Pelicans last season. He averaged 14.5 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists while shooting 48.4% from the field, 40.6% from beyond the arc and 90.5% from the free-throw line. The 23-year-old made 202 3-pointers.
Murphy III has career averages of 10.5 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.1 assists with the Pelicans. New Orleans has to hope that the knee injury will not require surgery.
The Pelicans went 42-40 last season. They lost the 9-10 play-in game at home to the Oklahoma City Thunder and missed the playoffs. Murphy III was fourth on the team in points per game, trailing only Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum.
There have been several questions about Williamson’s diet and commitment to basketball since he’s only played in 114 out of a possible 308 regular-season games since being drafted by the Pelicans with the first overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft out of Duke. Williamson played in 24 games in his rookie year and 61 games in his sophomore year. The lefty then missed his entire third year and appeared in just 29 games last season.
When he’s been on the court, Williamson has been a superstar. The North Carolina native has career averages of 25.8 points, 7.0 rebounds and 3.6 assists while shooting 60.5% from the floor. However, the Pelicans are only 57-57 when Williamson plays.
Ingram signed a five-year, $158.3 million contract with the Pelicans in November 2020. The one-time All-Star averaged 24.7 points, 5.5 rebounds and 5.8 assists for the Pelicans last season while shooting 48.4% from the field, 39.0% from beyond the arc and 88.2% from the free-throw.
The Pelicans acquired Ingram from the Los Angeles Lakers in the summer of 2019 in the blockbuster Anthony Davis trade. Ingram is averaging 23.7 points, 5.6 rebounds and 5.0 assists in 223 games with New Orleans. The Duke product won the 2019-20 Most Improved Player of the Year Award.
Ingram only appeared in 45 games last season, and according to NBA reporter Christian Clark of NOLA.com, Ingram’s inability to play through minor discomfort has frustrated some of his teammates.
More must-reads: