3 New Orleans Pelicans Players Who Need To Step Up Following Trey Murphy's Injury

With the injury to Trey Murphy likely sidelining him for the start of 2024-25, these New Orleans Pelicans players need to step up.

Sep 30, 2024; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Pelicans guard Jordan Hawkins (24) takes part in Pelicans Media Day. / Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images

The 2024-25 NBA season is still weeks away from starting and the New Orleans Pelicans have already suffered a major loss.

Forward Trey Murphy, who was under consideration for a starting spot, injured his hamstring in practice. He will be re-evaluated in three weeks, which likely means he will not be in the lineup opening night against the Chicago Bulls on October 23rd.

Even if Murphy wasn’t going to start, he was projected to be a prominent part of the team’s rotation. Without him, other players will have to step up.

Who will Wille Green turn to? Here are three players who need to step up for as long as Murphy is sidelined.

Jordan Hawkins

A rotation spot was going to be hard to find for the 2023 first-round pick out of UConn. The team is loaded on the wing, as spot minutes behind whoever was the starting shooting guard was likely all he would receive.

But, with a player who was going to push for 30+ minutes per night out of the lineup, Hawkins should have a chance to shine early in the season. His performance in the NBA 2K25 Summer League 2024 showed he still has plenty of developing to do, but what he will be asked to do in the regular season is drastically different.

He just has to step into the role Murphy had. Knock down 3-pointers at an effective clip and play solid team defense and Hawkins will have a positive impact.

Brandon Ingram

While his future with the franchise is up in the air, Ingram is going to be an incredibly important person early on this season. Without Ingram, he is the unquestioned starter at small forward entering the year.

What his role will be is unclear; we won’t know it until Coach Green decides who will round out the starting five. But, the ball won’t be in his hands nearly as often with Dejounte Murray taking over as the starting point guard.

Can Ingram handle an off-ball role? It will be imperative to not only the Pelicans' level of success but also improve his value around the league. No one currently views him as a max-level player, but that can change with a hot start.

Javonte Green

There has been a lot of talk about New Orleans going with a small-ball approach this season. If that happens, they will need players to step up, literally and figuratively, in the lineup.

Green is someone who was going to be on the fringe of a rotation spot nightly. Without Murphy, he will almost assuredly be a key part of the second unit.

His hard-nosed style of play and physicality are much-needed assets for the team. The defensive ability he brings to the table will be relied upon heavily without one of their best defenders in the lineup out of the gate.

If the 3-point shooting improvements he has shown the last few seasons are legitimate, he will effectively slide into Murphy’s rotation spot.