The Pelicans sent a message to Zion Williamson by making his one-game suspension public, writes Rod Walker of NOLA. Walker explains that the team could have opted to simply keep Williamson on the bench for another night, just as it did for Wednesday’s game, without providing an explanation.
Instead, Williamson was suspended for Friday’s contest at Philadelphia, reportedly after showing up late for Thursday’s flight. There have also been reports of other violations, such as being late for multiple practices.
“There were several occasions that led up to this,” coach Willie Green confirmed. “That’s how we got to this decision.”
Walker adds that New Orleans needs a strong second half of the season from Williamson, who provided hope with 22 points, five rebounds, four assists, three steals and a block in 28 minutes as he returned Tuesday following a lengthy absence. Williamson seemed to be in excellent physical condition, which Walker notes has often been an issue during his six NBA seasons.
“The focus I had during this rehab was a bit more extreme,” Williamson said. “That’s why my legs are already under me. I feel like I didn’t miss a beat, but gained a beat. Now I don’t have to worry about trying to find a rhythm. … Just learning more and more about my body and how my body reacts to certain things.”
There’s more from the Southwest Division:
- After missing the past three games with a sprained left ankle, Trey Murphy is expected to play Sunday at Boston (Twitter link from the Pelicans). Assuming they’re all active, it will be the first game for Murphy, Williamson and Dejounte Murray together as teammates, tweets Will Guillory of The Athletic.
- Injuries to Jabari Smith and Tari Eason have opened up rotation minutes over the past two weeks for veteran forward Jae’Sean Tate, per Danielle Lerner of The Houston Chronicle. Tate, who has been with the Rockets since the start of their rebuild, enables the team to keep a strong defensive lineup on the court at all times. “It’s definitely always fun to play, but at the end of the day, we want to win as many games as we can,” he said. “We are dealing with a couple injuries right now, and we just have to have that next man up (mentality) until we get our guys back. So until that happens, I’m ready, and we’ll see what happens.”
- Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins said at today’s pre-game session with reporters that he’s hoping to have GG Jackson and Vince Williams back by the end of the month (Twitter video link from Michael Wallace of Grizzlies.com). Jackson hasn’t played this season as he recovers from foot surgery, while Williams has been out with a sprained right ankle since mid-November.
Zion simply doesn’t want to play. It’s very clear. He likes the money and fame, but refuses to put in the work.
New Orleans didn’t send a message to Zion, they sent a message to their fans and to the local media. Zion isn’t ready to lead an NBA franchise, I am not sure this is a switch you can turn on, at this point he is a liability.
Zion has all the skills to be great yet has the work ethic that just doesn’t match.
I wonder if Zions work ethic and attitude thing is directly related to being in New Orleans.
Small market for a big name.
Little to no history.
Never had any success while he’s been there.
Multiple head coaches
I wonder if just a simple change of scenery would bring back the Zion we all know he can be on a more consistent basis.
For example, Chicago.
Would he be happier playing in the east. On a franchise with a history of success and getting a fresh start with other young guys.
Sell Chicago on the idea but sacking AK and Donovan and starting fresh with the potential of Zion to really get fans attention.
Simmons>Russ,
Talk to any behavioral psychologist, psychiatrist, or social worker: character failings are independent of where we live. If Zion is irresponsible or lazy or undisciplined in New Orleans, moving to Chicago (or any other city) won’t change that one iota.
I agree that if you have a lot of those traits and that is your character then where you live doesn’t change that really but I don’t see Zion in that light.
I don’t think any of this is a true reflection of Zions character. Yes he might have some of these traits to some degree but because you show bits and pieces of this and your under the media spot light and always scrutinised is that really who you are.
You have to think he got moved away from his family and friends, the place he was born and raised to play in NOLA. He was then told by everyone he’s fat, out of shape, lazy… as so on. He’s also been dealing with mutiple different injuries and trying to come back from them.
Then there’s the part about how much media coverage he gets negatively and what effect that has on his mental health.
This is all before even talking about his performance as a basketball player.
Now just imagine he went to a different city after a trade.
Maybe he’s closer to friends and family and that helps him off the court and boost the confidence having that base of support.
Maybe the teams winning games and going to the playoffs and he’s encouraged by the results to do better and be apart of a successful team.
Maybe the team is in a big city and he’s getting a lot more attention and coverage for his ability. Brands and business want to work with him, he’s earning more money and he’s happier.
You don’t know these players personally nor do you know their characters. Anything can affect what you are seeing and believing including the media biases. Try have a bit more faith in the players