This week New Orleans Pelicans head coach Willie Green announced that Zion Williamson was still some ways away from returning to the team. The 21-year-old has been out of action up to this point recovering from an offseason foot surgery that nobody even knew about until Media Day.
When the announcement regarding Williamson’s condition was originally made, it was presented in a way where some believed he could return in time for the beginning of the regular season. Well the regular season has commenced, New Orleans is 1-7, and Williamson is nowhere to be found.
At this point, Williamson is not even cleared to be a full participant in practice. There will be further scans done in two to three weeks to determine what his status will be going forward.
Further complicating matters is recent disturbing footage that has emerged involving Williamson. If the video is any indication, he is still a long ways away from being able to return to action.
This week, former Pelicans guard and bigtime Williamson supporter J.J. Redick spoke to the media. He expressed legitimate concern regarding his former teammate’s status.
“Of course I would be worried just in general about Zion, given his injury history,” Redick said on a conference call this week. “There’s certainly a lot more at play here than whether he ends up leaving the Pelicans in five years or four years or whatever it is.
“Zion has to be in better shape,” he continued. “That’s not a secret. And he’s got to get healthy. And I think if Zion’s out on the court with Brandon [Ingram] and the young nucleus they have, there’s a lot to be excited about if I was a Pelicans fan.”
Redick has consistently been one of Williamson’s biggest cheerleaders. If even he is concerned at this point – everyone should be.
There has been a lot of chatter in recent months about Williamson’s desire to switch to a different team. At this rate, though – it’s hard to see a scenario where any squad gives up anything of substance for him. Between his injuries, mild petulance, weight concerns and random off-the-court DM “scandals,” he’s just too big of a risk right now.
Now that’s a Halloween costume. https://t.co/WVK6W11K9M
— Game 7 (@game7__) November 1, 2021
Hopefully Williamson returns to the court in the near term and lives up to his potential. Because if he doesn’t, he may end up going down as one of the biggest draft disappointments in modern NBA history.
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A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
