Pelicans forward Zion Williamson, who has yet to play a game this season due to offseason surgery on his right foot, experienced some soreness this week in that foot and his potential return has been delayed, tweets Andrew Lopez of ESPN.
According to Lopez, Williamson didn’t practice on Thursday and the plan is to dial him back for a few days. No re-imaging on his foot has been scheduled and the Pelicans expect the former No. 1 overall pick to ramp back up next week. The team views it as a “slight delay” in the rehab process, but nothing serious, per William Guillory of The Athletic (Twitter link).
We heard last week that Williamson had started playing in 4-on-4 scrimmages and had been cleared to practice and participate in full team activities. At that time, the expectation was that today would be Zion’s first opportunity to take part in a full practice. Clearly, that didn’t happen. He’ll revert to “low-impact” work before he ramps back up again, says Lopez (Twitter link).
While the Pelicans may be right that a slight delay in Williamson’s rehab shouldn’t be viewed as a major concern, the team is facing increased scrutiny, given the All-Star forward’s injury history. Williamson also missed a significant chunk of his rookie season due to a knee injury, far exceeding the recovery timeline the team initially provided at the time.
This time around, comments made by Williamson and head of basketball operations David Griffin on Media Day strongly suggested the 21-year-old was targeting opening night for his return. Griffin later claimed that when he said Williamson would be ready for the season, he hadn’t meant the start of the season, but Zion himself was clearly aiming to be back for opening night. It’s a bit of a worrying sign that, for a second time in three years, New Orleans’ star player is missing far more time than initially projected.
The new chant –
BU
BUS
BUST
BUST!!!
I don’t think bust is the correct term for him, he’s great on the court, it’s just the most important ability is availability and he doesn’t have that, a player of his size and width cannot afford leg injuries and that’s what he keeps goin through, zion will never become what everyone thought because of injuries but hard to say bust, he’s not Dennis smith jr or Marvin bagley
lol he want out
It can’t help that he has been so out of shape. You can’t be 300 pounds at 6’6 and recover well from foot injuries. I think he will ruin his potential by not taking being in shape seriously.
It’s not really that he is out of shape. He is built strong, he’s just far too heavy too. Out of shape he is not. He needs to get a lot lighter to last in the nba. But I think if he does he won’t be as effective. It’s catch22.
Isn’t that what out of shape means? He isn’t in a body shape to play at a high level.
Not really when he’s in shape for his build. You saw him in the NFL you would t say that. I agree he’s not an NBA build. But you can’t help the way you’re built. I don’t disagree he could trying to slim down but is it going to cost his gameplay?
Not if he can develop a 3pt shot.
He’s out of shape. He can’t survive at that weight. Doesn’t matter what sport he plays
It’s subjective. To me he’s the right shape for his build. Not a good shape for NBA but agree to disagree. It’s like how people try to say Tyson Fury is out of shape but in his words “the added padding helps take the blows”. For what they do they’re in the shape. Zion is a tank on springs. That is what the league loved about him pre draft. We all knew it’s unsustainable. But that’s what he’s always been. You can’t expect a drastic change. NO drafted a flying semi. And were the winners of the draft doing so. I always preferred Ja as an nba prospect but Zion was seen as a “game changer”.
JW91 he’s fat.
He’s out of shape, build excluded, because he hasn’t been able to exercise as he normally would thanks to the injury. It’s a double whammy.
Yes true Shea. Hard to lose weight when you can’t run or exercise.
Never seen flab grow as abs before. He’s heavy yes, large yes. But fat he ain’t. I’m not saying he’s Bol but he ain’t fat. I’d understand if he was having a heart attack at half court and borrowing shorts from Michael Moore. He’s not an NBA build. But that’s why everyone was up his butt hole in the draft “he’ll change the game, no one can guard him”. It’s obvious that kinda weight won’t hold the way he jumps. But did anyone expect any different. But to call him fat, I don’t see him on a rascal any time soon.
Bruh, he has a double chin. TF you mean he has abs. He’s got an eddie lacey type of eating problem. IDK why you’re so adamant that he doesn’t. This a zion burner?
Yep I am Zion. I must be blind. Looking at the guy, I’d kill to have a build like his. But clearly I’d want to be fat. Agree to disagree.
Zion’s carrer is starting to be one that exists only in the subjunctive mood…woulda coulda shoulda mighta hadda oughta
Zion is too heavy
boxing might be a better choice. trying to throw down against fury and wilder.
Hard to drop 50lbs in a week or two isn’t it? No one is paying us schlubs to stay in shape enough to play basketball, but that’s exactly what you’re getting paid for Zion not drink Canes sauce by the gallon.
To be fair, Cane’s sauce is pretty good. The restaurant as a whole is overrated in my opinion, but the toast and sauce there are incredible.
True that Texas toast is everything, they rival Chic-fil-a for drive through lines.
There’s a Chic-Fil-A and a Cane’s that are literally 300 feet apart in the town over from me and they both have lines that are always curled around the building. It’s insane lol
Pelicans are an atrocious organization.
I worried he’s gonna be the next Yao Ming. This makes me sad.
Should’ve had the talk with him from the get go. Coddling stars like Zion for years will get you into these situations. You’re so scared of them leaving that you’ll put up with anything.
Season #3 and he’s played in a total of 85 games so far…….
Greg Oden played in 82 games over his first 3 seasons. Man I hope he doesn’t turn out the same way.
Zion and RJ Barrett suffer from Duke Overrated Syndrome. Ja Morant is overrated as well. He a very good player but, is a weak 3pt shooter who never shot better than 78% from the FT line. The best player to come out of the 2019 NBA draft could be Jordan Poole. I wanted the Celtics to get him. At Michigan, he checked all the boxes of a wing – steal rate, 3pt attempts per 100 pos, and FT%. His 3pt% is climbing and has been a big reason for the Warriors great start.
There’s no measurable statistic that agrees with you. Nearly EVER stat says Zion is superior to every player drafted in 2019. But you’re obviously right cuz you say so.
Duke has sent 90 players to the NBA, 51 of them drafted in the first round. They’re reputation of producing quality players is unsurpassed.
I disagree with you on “unsurpassed” San Diego baseball guy. I think the only stud to come out of Duke was Grant Hill. The rest have been pretty good. Carlos Boozer j.j. Redick Brandon Ingram’s pretty good and probably getting better. Of course some others I’ve missed. Elton brand, maybe Shane Battier.
But I would put North Carolina’s all-time 5 up against Duke’s all-time 5 any day of the week and twice on Sunday. Then you have Kentucky producing many many All-Star studs. Way more than Duke who produces the average pretty good player in the NBA.
We won’t even go to UCLA, Michigan, even the Houston Cougers. Maybe Kansas..
You are correct UNC’s draft classes have been better. But UNC is the only school with more 1st round picks than Duke.
Nope. UK has had the most 1st round picks. I believe Duke is 3rd. Of course, that doesn’t even speak to the issue of whether or not Duke’s players are (or are not) overrated coming out of school. That’s about performance relative to the NBA expectations based on their draft position.
#1 picks is a measure of performance for college teams, not pro teams. Duke’s rep is that that their high picks tend to disappoint.
And you are more overrated than all of them combined multipled by infinity.
LeBron has never had a good FT%, so by your logic he sucks too. Get outta here with that crazy talk.
Setback? More like SetFAT!
Soreness ???? The foot is holding up 300 plus pounds. Of course it’s Fnn sore. Probably going to break again. He needs to go to WWF. Thank god we didn’t get #1 pick.
Yeah maybe he can join the WWF, he’d fit right in with Men on a Mission
If you saw Zion lifting at the gym, the last thing you’d think is that he’s out of shape. Maybe he’s not in peak basketball shape. But let’s not act like he’s fat and out of shape. That he is most certainly not.
Foot injuries for big guys are always worrisome in the NBA.
It’s a moot point, though. He needs to be lighter…fat, muscle, whatever.
NBA shape is serious. He’s not that. He has never been that. He came in at 285 LBs. It’s been two yrs now. And he’s still not in gm shape.
That’s fair. I’m just saying let’s make that clear distinction that’s we’re talking about NBA shape. Because I see people saying he’s not in shape, and that’s just silly.
This is funny. ZW may not be fat, nor can one call him carbs or toxins. He is strong but not called protein. But if he is so heavy his legs cannot propel him, he is out of shape, and obese is a fine word for him.
If he has to lose muscle to lose weight, then so be it.
Hard to lose weight if one one cannot run though.
Hate when superstars like Zion miss sooo much time… we the fans lose out on enjoying them!
BTW Zion mustn’t lose weight, has got nothing to do with his injuries, but he needs his body to dominate the league like he did last year!
El Don Always Wrong, you’re kidding right? The man needs to lose some weight because basketball has a lot to do with quickness and speed. Strength is underneath but he’s 6-6, so he better fly out of the gym like Charles Barkley and that means losing weight and not putting on muscle for strength.
If he loses 40 lbs he’ll still have plenty of muscle just like Sir Charles did. And he’ll be able to fly again like he once showed us.
If he loses 40 lbs, he’ll only have 20 more to go.
Oliver Miller 2.0
Trade this porkchop for Ben Simons, and use more your most talented guard, Trey Murphy.
Try to get Warriors youngsters for Ingram and Valanciunas. You can do this job the either way.
anyone else think all these setbacks are because he hates that he was drafted by the pelicans and desperately wants out?