NBA Rumors: Dejounte Murray suffers broken hand injury in Pelicans debut against Bulls | News, results, highlights, statistics and rumors

Murray had 14 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds in the 123-111 win.

The 28-year-old Murray was New Orleans' biggest offseason addition, as the team sent two first-round picks as well as Dyson Daniels, Larry Nance Jr. and EJ Liddell to the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for the veteran point guard.

It was a far more modest return than Atlanta sending the San Antonio Spurs (four first-rounders and Danilo Gallinari) to acquire Murray in 2022.

The backcourt of Trae Young and Murray were never quite aligned, although the latter averaged 22.5 points per game last season and made 201 three-pointers, also a career high. But with Young taking over the primary ball-handling duties, Murray seemed somewhat miscast as the off-ball guard when they shared the court.

The addition of Murray gave the Pelicans a true point guard to pair with CJ McCollum, completing a strong core group of that pair alongside Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram and Herbert Jones. Although there was some doubt as to whether there would be enough of the proverbial basketballs, the Pelicans had undoubtedly built a talented core.

Now, however, the Pelicans will be without Murray for an extended period of time, costing the team's four best players a chance to build chemistry. And considering Williamson's history of absences, the team is just one injury away from being seriously weakened.