Dejounte Murray, Joe Dumars rehab plan ‘executed to perfection’

The plan is over, the wait is over. Everyone around the training facility and family room can breathe a sigh of relief. More than 13 months after rupturing his right Achilles tendon, Dejounte Murray made his long-awaited season debut for under the New Orleans Pelicans microscopescoring 13 points, three assists and two rebounds in 25 minutes during a 113-109 win over the Golden State Warriors.

For Murray, getting back on the floor was about more than physical rehabilitation. It was about maintaining a connection with an organization that made him a priority during the darkest days of recovery.

“Absolutely. You know, for me it was just taking care of my mental state,” Murray began. “Mostly with my body, I wanted to be in a position to play. You tell my team that I was helping out in LA. The Pelicans were fine, connected and coming in. They probably came in seven times to check on me and make sure everything was going well. And at the end of the day, Joe Dumars and I talk a lot. And the plan that we, you know, we made to make it perfect, you know, why. I could play today.”

That frequent trip from New Orleans to Los Angeles represented a significant shift for the franchise that Murray owned publicly criticized just a few months earlier because he did not provide adequate support during his first season in the team with injuries. The relationship began to mend when Dumars took over as head of basketball operations after last season.

The new front office initiated direct conversations with Murray about his concerns and implemented changes based on guard feedback.

“They were great, and it’s all down to the doctors,” Murray explained. “Great for the staff. They came along with our medical staff. The communication pieces, everything, we communicated from this morning until, you know, the game. So, like I said, the win is important. We’re grateful for that. We got the win and we’re ready to build from that.”

Murray’s conditioning looked intact in his first game of the season, even if his shot wasn’t quite there. He didn’t mind the box score, but instead pointed to how his body held up as the true measure of success that night.

“Confes will come,” shrugged Murray. “I felt like I was active. I felt good with the lateral movements, running up and down. You know, my conditioning was good. So it’s just a credit to my hard work and dedication.”

New Orleans cruised to a win in Murray’s debut, and the 29-year-old made it clear that the result is what matters most as Borrego’s rebuilt Pelicans look to build momentum in the offseason. The former All-Star, who averaged 21.1 points, 9.2 assists and 8.3 rebounds during his 2022 All-Star season with the San Antonio Spurs, now has less than two dozen games to show he can still be an elite option to lead a new era of bayou basketball.