New Orleans Pelicans ahead Zion Williamson pushes down the court docket throughout the second half of an NBA basketball recreation towards the Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder, Monday, Feb. 10, 2025, in Oklahoma Metropolis. (AP Photograph/Kyle Phillips)
METAIRIE, Louisiana– The New Orleans Pelicans are doubling down on injury-plagued, sixth-year professional Zion Williamson, hoping he could be a extra dependable and productive centerpiece within the years to return within the NBA.
If that wasn’t clear when the Pelicans (12-41) selected to commerce high-scoring wing Brandon Ingram to Toronto — and maintain Williamson — earlier than final week’s NBA commerce deadline, Pelicans basketball operations chief David Griffin left little question about it in his first assembly with reporters because the transfer on Tuesday.
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“Should you take simply his physique of labor this yr, what he’s carried out for us when he’s been wholesome, he’s taking steps day by day and he’s grown by leaps and bounds, each on the court docket and off,” Griffin mentioned. “The participant he’s now could be higher than he’s ever been.”
The potential for Williamson’s uncommon mixture of uncooked athletic skill, explosiveness and measurement (listed at 6-foot-6, 284 kilos) to translate within the NBA has been evident since his first few video games on the court docket again in late January 2020 — after the primary of what has turn into a number of lengthy harm absences.
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This season, Williamson has averaged 23.9 factors, 7.3 rebounds and 4.9 assists in 17 video games. He’s additionally missed 36 video games, primarily due to a hamstring harm.
Key questions surrounding Williamson — who’s beneath contract for 3 extra seasons — have centered on his well being, maturity and even his dedication to his occupation. At instances, he has struggled together with his weight and conditioning. In the course of the 2023 offseason, there have been unsavory and really public social media posts by a spurned romantic associate. This season, he was suspended one recreation for being late for a crew flight.
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Alongside the best way, Williamson, who’s slated to go well with up towards Sacramento on Wednesday night time, has missed 243 of 444 regular-season video games since being drafted first total out of Duke in 2019.
“Zion has handled a large number of challenges, a few of which have been form of his personal doing, fairly frankly,” Griffin mentioned. “And he would inform you that.”
However Griffin expressed confidence that the Williamson of the current and close to future — when it comes to maturity, reliability and availability — gained’t resemble the seemingly star-crossed participant he has been for many of the previous six seasons.
New Orleans Pelicans ahead Zion Williamson (1) battles for the ball with Sacramento Kings middle Jonas Valanciunas, left, and Jake LaRavia throughout the second half of an NBA basketball recreation in Sacramento, Calif., Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025. (AP Photograph/Randall Benton)
“Individuals mature at completely different charges within the league, and typically that maturity seems to be like a brushfire and typically it seems to be like a forest fireplace,” Griffin mentioned. “I believe he’s reaching forest-fire standing now — and that’s thrilling.
“From a management perspective,” Griffin added, Williamson is “doing issues he’s by no means carried out earlier than, and he’s rather more vocal than he’s ever been. … He’s embracing the chance he has to grab this crew.”
Griffin additionally defended the Pelicans’ medical crew within the face of an unprecedented rash of accidents which have stored all 5 starters out for prolonged durations.
“This stuff that occurred usually have been fully flukish and unavoidable,” Griffin mentioned.
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Ingram (ankle) performed in simply 18 of 51 video games earlier than he was traded.
Prime defensive participant Herb Jones (shoulder) has performed in simply 20 video games this season and Griffin mentioned Tuesday he’ll in all probability be “shut down for the season right here quickly.”
Dejounte Murray, a high offseason acquisition, missed a number of weeks after breaking his hand in his first recreation with New Orleans. After he returned, he performed simply 30 extra video games earlier than an Achilles tear ended his season.
CJ McCollum, who missed 14 video games early this season due to an adductor harm, has appeared like a relative pillar of well being.
“It’s been nearly an unimaginable cascade impact of issues which have occurred to us this yr,” Griffin mentioned, noting that the Pelicans have had 29 completely different beginning lineups.
“We have to get higher simply when it comes to our skill to construct a extra accessible roster,” Griffin mentioned. “Clearly, that’s one thing we’ve failed at up to now.”
Griffin mentioned the Pelicans harbored excessive hopes for Williamson and Ingram as a tandem. However Griffin famous that they performed simply 34% of their video games as Pelicans collectively throughout the previous five-plus seasons — an untenable development for the 2 highest-paid gamers on the crew.
“We reached a degree the place financially we weren’t going to have the ability to maintain the group collectively as we have been constructed,” Griffin mentioned.
The Ingram commerce introduced the Pelicans two established veterans in Bruce Brown and Kelly Olynyk, who can be relied upon to assist New Orleans’ comparatively younger roster mature professionally.
Whereas Brown’s contract is expiring and Olynyk has yet another season left on his, Griffin mentioned, “This isn’t seen as a short-term state of affairs with both participant in our minds.
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“We hope, because the season unfolds, they develop to really feel the identical about us,” Griffin mentioned.