METAIRIE, La. -- Dejounte Murray is expected to make his season debut Tuesday when the New Orleans Pelicans host the Golden State Warriors.
It would be Murray's first action in more than 13 months since he ruptured his right Achilles tendon.
New Orleans acquired Murray before least season in a trade that sent Dyson Daniels, Larry Nance Jr., Cody Zeller and two first-round picks (2025 and 2027) to Atlanta. He appeared in just 31 games, however, after breaking his left hand in the first game of that season and then suffering the Achilles injury on Jan. 31, 2025, against Boston.
The Pelicans are a much different team than they were the last time Murray took the court for them. In the year since, New Orleans has replaced its front office, traded longtime franchise star Brandon Ingram and fired head coach Willie Green.
The new front office, headed by Joe Dumars, has put more of an emphasis on the young core, including rookie guard Jeremiah Fears, and the team sits near the bottom of the Western Conference standings.
"There's a lot of excuses for a chump to be like, 'Nah, I ain't playing,' and I'm the opposite of that," Murray said after practice Monday. "What I've been through, what I go through, I use that all to fuel the fire.
"But for me, I love the game and I put myself in a position to be able to say I want to go out and play for not only my family and organization but also the City of New Orleans. I feel like my best basketball is ahead of me."
Pelicans interim coach James Borrego said it might be premature to "have a conversation" about how Murray could fit the front office's long-term vision for the franchise. And while Borrego sounded inclined to play Murray on Tuesday night, he stopped short of saying for sure that he will.
But Borrego complimented Murray's commitment to basketball and the Pelicans.
"It speaks to his character -- that he cares," Borrego said. "I'm not saying that everybody coming off this injury would even play right now. This kid wants to play. He wants to be out there on the floor. He wants to compete. He wants to be out there with his teammates. He wants to win."
Murray said he has a good relationship with Dumars and his staff, but added, "It doesn't matter who's in the front office, who's the coaching staff. We've got to go out on the floor and play hard, and play the right way."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.