Dejounte Murray sat on the bench Monday night cheering on his teammates as the New Orleans Pelicans rolled to an easy victory over the Sacramento Kings.
How much longer before he’s actually able to join them on the court in games remains to be seen.
“No timeline yet,” Pelicans interim coach James Borrego. “I think we’ll have a better idea after the (All-Star) break.”
For now, Borrego is pleased just to have Murray back in the building.
Murray, just more than a year removed from tearing his Achilles, is back in New Orleans and at the team’s practice facility after rehabbing the injury. He was limited in practice Sunday and Tuesday.
“It’s great to have him back on the court,” Borrego said. “That will ramp up over the next couple of days. We’ll get into the All-Star break and see where we go from there.”
Murray played in 31 games for the Pelicans last season, his first with the team after being acquired in a trade with the Atlanta Hawks. He fractured his left hand in the season opener and missed the next 17 games. He played in 30 more games before the season-ending injury against the Boston Celtics in the Smoothie King Center.
“We’d love to have him back on the court,” teammate Trey Murphy said. “But his presence here has been great.”
Rookie point guard Jeremiah Fears hasn’t played a game with Murray yet, but he also is glad to see him back at practice.
“It’s been great so far,” Fears said. “He’s been by our side talking to us and asking us questions and motivating us. Just continuing to encourage confidence.”
Murray averaged 17.5 points and 7.4 assists in his 31 games last season. His best game came against the Utah Jazz when he scored 26 points to go with 11 assists and nine rebounds.
It's unclear where Murray will fit into the rotation if he returns this season. The Pelicans are just 15-40 heading into Wednesday’s game against the Miami Heat, but they are 6-5 since the starting lineup of Zion Williamson, Murphy, Herb Jones, Saddiq Bey and Derik Queen emerged. Jones has been handling most of the point guard duties when playing with the starting five.
Murray hasn't talked with the media since media day, but he is expected to speak after the All-Star break.
“It’s just great having him out there,” Borrego said. “I’m so proud of him. What a devastating injury. But the way he’s handled it, the way he’s attacked it, he deserves a ton of credit. He and his team and our team. The entire performance team deserve a ton of credit. You can feel his presence, his leadership, his confidence. It’s a massive boost to this organization.”