Sources: Pels’ Murphy has injury to left meniscus

New Orleans Pelicans guard Trey Murphy III suffered a left knee meniscus injury Tuesday and further testing will determine whether surgery will be required, sources told ESPN.

Murphy, who showed the promise of a future All-Star in his second season, injured the knee in a workout at the team’s practice facility.

Further evaluation will determine the recovery route, sources said. A surgical procedure on the meniscus likely would sideline Murphy for the first few months of the season. A non-surgical alternative would likely cause him to miss significantly less time out of the lineup — perhaps as short as six to eight weeks.

Murphy had an outstanding second season for the Pelicans, averaging 14.5 points on 40% 3-point shooting and shooting 90% from the free throw line. He ranked fifth in catch-and-shoot 3-pointers in the NBA last season, according to Second Spectrum data. In a season in which he became the only Pelicans player in history to have nine 3-pointers in a game more than once, he increased his scoring average by 9.1 points season to season — the second-largest increase in the league, according to ESPN Stats & Information research. Only Utah‘s Lauri Markkanen, last year’s Most Improved Player Award winner, made a bigger leap.

Murphy, 23, started 65 games for the Pelicans last season. He was the 17th overall pick in the 2021 draft out of Virginia.