Zion Williamson Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Pelicans’ Jrue Holiday Available Via Trade?

December 17th, 2019 at 1:15pm CST by Luke Adams

The Pelicans are believed to consider Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram untouchable in trade talks, and have remained reluctant to trade J.J. Redick, league sources tell Marc Stein of The New York Times (Twitter links). However, according to Stein, there’s a belief that Jrue Holiday is available via trade.

Stein cautions that it would surely require a substantial offer to convince the Pelicans to part with Holiday. Based on Stein’s report, it sounds like the team is open to listening to inquiries, but won’t actively shop its standout guard.

Still, as recently as this summer, when David Griffin took over as New Orleans’ head of basketball operations, Holiday was viewed as entirely off-limits. It appears the club’s dismal 6-21 start to the season has influenced the front office’s thinking on the subject.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski suggested on Sunday that Holiday loves New Orleans, but might not be opposed to a change of scenery if it means avoiding an extensive rebuild.

Holiday, 29, is considered one of the NBA’s best defensive guards, and has also been his usual productive self on offense so far this season. In 25 games, he has averaged 19.4 PPG, 6.8 APG, and 5.0 RPG with a .454 FG% and a .338 3PT%. He has shot 48.9% from the field and 38.9% on threes over his last 17 games, following an early-season slump.

Holiday is under contract through at least 2020/21, with matching cap hits of $26.2MM this season and next season. He also has a $27.1MM player option for 2021/22. If the Pelicans begin fielding trade offers in earnest, he could quickly become the most intriguing player on the trade block this winter.

Southwest Notes: Zion, Morant, Jackson, Wright

December 9th, 2019 at 3:59pm CST by Luke Adams

There was some resignation “in some corners” of the Pelicans‘ organization over the weekend that No. 1 pick Zion Williamson may not make his regular-season debut until sometime in the new year, tweets Marc Stein of The New York Times.

The Pelicans have yet to specify any sort of target date for Williamson since initially estimating a six-to-eight-week recovery timeline in October. Recent reports have indicated Zion’s absence is expected to extend beyond that timeline, and as Stein notes (via Twitter), the rookie forward has yet to participate in any meaningful on-court work.

While Pelicans fans continue to wait for their top pick to return to action, the Grizzlies got some good news today regarding the No. 2 pick in this year’s draft. According to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link), Ja Morant will return to action on Monday night vs. Golden State. Morant hasn’t played since November 29 due to back spasms.

Here’s more from around the Southwest:

Former No. 4 overall pick Josh Jackson was held out of today’s Memphis Hustle game for violating team rules, the Grizzlies‘ G League affiliate announced (via Twitter). Jackson missed a team meeting, tweets Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports. It’s a disappointing turn of events for a player who had been doing a good job rehabbing his image in the G League. As David Cobb of The Memphis Commercial Appeal details, Jackson had been considered a strong teammate and leader with the Hustle so far this season.
The Mavericks may have dodged a bullet, as point guard Delon Wright is being considered day-to-day with an adductor strain, per Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The injury usually tends to be more of a week-to-week issue, MacMahon notes.
Carmelo Anthony said on Sunday that he wasn’t surprised by the way Chris Paul‘s stint with the Rockets ended, given the way the team handled his own exit, writes Nick Friedell of ESPN.com. “When my situation happened in Houston… I told him, looked him in his eyes and said, ‘Look, just be careful.’ You know what I mean? Just be careful,” Anthony said. “And damn sure if [the same situation] didn’t happen to him.”

Southwest Notes: Forbes, Porzingis, Rivers, Zion

December 8th, 2019 at 2:49pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News wonders if Spurs shooting guard Bryn Forbes can retain the deft stroke he employed in the team’s recent 135-133 double overtime defeat of the Rockets. Forbes racked up 25 points on 10-of-13 shooting from the field, including a sparkling five-of-six from deep.

If Forbes can shoot well enough, he should remain entrenched as the Spurs’ starting two guard, McDonald writes. Forbes himself expressed confidence that he could: “I’ve put in a lot of work, and I don’t do it to miss shots.”

There’s more from the Southwest Division:

Kristaps Porzingis, the Mavericks‘ 7’3″ sharp-shooting, shot-blocking “Unicorn,” has adapted his game since being traded from the Knicks. The explosive offensive fire power of his triple-doubling teammate Luka Doncic has impacted how KP can best help in Dallas. The Athletic’s Shams Charania unpacks how the 24 year-old has adapted his shot profile and playmaking in Dallas, upon signing a five-year, $158MM extension in July. “Some nights I get more opportunities and some nights I don’t get as many opportunities,” Porzingis told Charania. “But most nights, we give Luka the ball and let him f***ing go.”
Ahead of what would become a 115-109 Rockets victory last night, guard Austin Rivers had high praise for current Suns coach Monty Williams. Williams served as Rivers’ first head coach when both were with the Pelicans (then the Hornets). “I’ll tell you, in terms of on-the-ball defense, I think I’m as good as anybody,” Rivers said, per The Houston Chronicle’s Jonathan Feigen. “I really do give credit to Monty. He was so on me about defense, it’s all I thought about.” Rivers re-signed with the Rockets this summer on a two-year,$4.5MM veteran’s minimum contract.
Much-ballyhooed Pelicans rookie Zion Williamson, the 2019 No. 1 pick, has started partaking in light on-court team work recently, but he had yet to begin on-court work as of December 4. Williamson will not make the original six-to-eight-week knee surgery recovery window projected by Pelicans brass. William Guillory of The Athletic opines that New Orleans’ cardinal sin, though, is a lack of defensive effort or hustle, and Zion won’t be able to solve that issue on his own.

No Back-To-Backs For Zion Williamson

December 6th, 2019 at 2:03pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Pelicans plan to be very careful with injured rookie Zion Williamson when he’s ready to start playing, writes Andrew Lopez of ESPN. Vice president of basketball operations David Griffin said Williamson’s condition will be closely monitored and he won’t be used in back-to-back situations.

“He very likely will not be asked to take the pounding of back-to-backs initially,” Griffin said in an appearance on the team’s TV broadcast. “There will be a sort of ramp-up for him to getting back to where you would call him full strength, but he’s certainly going to be playing, and we’re trying to win basketball games. And quite frankly, we’ve done a horrible job of that.”

New Orleans is off to a 6-16 start without Williamson, who continues to recover from a meniscus injury he suffered in the preseason. He was originally projected to miss six to eight weeks, and while the team expects him back soon, he won’t meet that timetable. He has progressed to the point that he can handle some basketball activity, such as light walk-throughs and spot shooting.

Williamson was spectacular in the preseason, averaging 23.3 points and 6.5 rebounds per night and shooting 71.4% from the field. He suffered the injury in an October 13 game and underwent surgery eight days later.

Griffin is confident that the organization is making the right decision by allowing its star rookie to take his recovery slowly.

“Where we may be failing in terms of the short term, I’m very confident that we’re succeeding over the breadth of what we’re trying to do, which is build a sustainable winner,” he said. “And we’re well on our way to that, despite the current record.”

Latest On Zion Williamson’s Recovery

December 3rd, 2019 at 11:02pm CST by Luke Adams

Zion Williamson‘s NBA regular season debut is getting closer, but it’s still not imminent.

According to Kristen Ledlow of TNT (Twitter link), the Pelicans‘ much-hyped rookie “turned a corner” in his rehab process, but the club continues to err on the side of caution. As such, Williamson’s return will “definitely” come outside the initial six-to-eight-week window provided by the Pels.

A source tells Andrew Lopez of ESPN that Williamson has begun doing some on-court work, including “light walkthroughs” with the team, as well as spot shooting. In addition to needing to ramp up that on-court work and begin taking contact, the No. 1 overall pick will also have to reach certain conditioning benchmarks before he makes his debut, Lopez writes.

The Pelicans announced Williamson’s original six-to-eight-week timetable back on October 21, so the eight-week mark would fall on December 16. It’s safe to say we won’t see Williamson on the court before then, which means his earliest possible target date would be on December 17, when the Pelicans host Brooklyn.

There’s certainly no guarantee that Williamson will be back for that game against the Nets, but if he can make it back during that following week, it’d be good news for NBA fans. The Pelicans are participating in one of the NBA’s five Christmas Day games this year, and a healthy Zion would make that matchup vs. Denver a whole lot more interesting.

Pelicans Notes: Zion, Davis, Griffin, Gentry

November 29th, 2019 at 10:20am CST by Arthur Hill

Excitement is building in New Orleans for the debut of Zion Williamson, even though a target date hasn’t been set, writes Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated. The top pick in this year’s draft is recovering from meniscus surgery, and a return before Christmas is still considered possible. He is able to do partial, weight-bearing workouts, but hasn’t been cleared to take contact.

“He’s dying to be back out here,” Pelicans head coach Alvin Gentry said. “He’s taking his rehab very, very serious. He’s chomping on the bit. We’d love to have him out there because he is a game-changer. Who wouldn’t want him out there? … It’s been tough for him only to be able to play in the preseason and not play now. He’s going to be special regardless because he is a team-first guy. And team-first guys seem to succeed in this league and have an impact on their team.”

The Pelicans are expecting Williamson to contribute right away when he does return. After a 6-12 start marked by a long string of injuries, executive vice president David Griffin said the team needs Williamson’s “energy” and “unbridled joy” for the game.

“He’s a monster,” Jrue Holiday added. “Having Zion has been really cool. He definitely surprised me professionally. Obviously, coming from college at 19, he is a little kid at heart. But the way he handles it is like an ultimate professional.”

There’s more from New Orleans, all from Spears:

Former Pelicans star and fellow No. 1 pick Anthony Davis met with Williamson when the Lakers traveled to New Orleans this week. Davis could have been Zion’s teammate, but didn’t back off from his trade request after the Pelicans won the draft lottery. “I told him to get healthy,” Davis said. “Obviously, they’re waiting on his return and they’re trying to hold on until he gets back.”
Gentry cites “a change of culture” since Griffin was hired to run the organization in April. The move was part of a front office overhaul that included adding Trajan Langdon as general manager and former WNBA star Swin Cash as vice president of basketball operations and team development. “The players know that everything is first class,” Gentry said. “Not that it hadn’t been before. But just the overall feeling and overall environment in a more positive way.”
One change that wasn’t made was on the bench, where Gentry was retained despite a 33-49 record last season and a 145-183 mark in his first four years in New Orleans. Griffin had previous experience with Gentry in Phoenix and is confident that he can eventually produce a winner. “Everybody says, ‘Why didn’t you start over with a new coach?’ ” Griffin said. “‘Well, I don’t know a lot of other coaches that I went to the conference finals with, with a roster similar to this.’ The fearless Alvin that coached the 2010 Suns to the conference finals is a different animal than he was able to be here. My job is to get to channel as much of that person as I can because that was a masterful job that I watched him do.”

David Griffin On Zion Williamson: “Getting Better Every Day”

November 23rd, 2019 at 11:59am CST by marksuleymanov

The Pelicans have been without 2019 first overall draft pick Zion Williamson for the entire regular season thus far as he recovers from meniscus surgery. As New Orleans awaits Williamson’s debut, president of basketball operations David Griffin told ESPN New Orleans 100.3 that the 19-year-old is progressing as expected.

“We’re really optimistic, and most importantly, Zion is really excited and that’s where we want him to be,” Griffin said.

Before undergoing surgery on October 20, Williamson showed the talent that made him this year’s top pick during preseason play. He averaged 23.3 PPG, 6.5 RPG and 2.3 APG while shooting 71.4% from the field. Thus far, without Williamson, the Pelicans have gone 6-9 but have won their last three games.

With a healthy Williamson, the Pelicans would likely expect a strong push for a postseason spot. According to Griffin, the Duke product is physically recovering well and the next step will be mentally preparing the phenom for his regular-season debut.

“The physical part is easy for him,” Griffin said. “He has an incredibly high basketball IQ. He loves being a teammate and getting better. He’s really rare among truly elite young players in that he enjoys the process of getting better. He loves the process of learning the game.”

The original six-to-eight week timeline had Williamson returning anywhere from the end of November to mid-December. Griffin noted that New Orleans would “err on the side of caution” with their potential superstar. A recent report from TNT’s Reggie Miller noted that Williamson is on track for a mid-December return.

“Right now, I think we’re on target for eight weeks,” Griffin said. “Probably not to the day, but in and around that.”

Update On Zion Williamson

November 22nd, 2019 at 10:34am CST by ChrisCrouse

Zion Williamson has yet to make his highly anticipated debut with the Pelicans due to a knee injury, but apparently things have been going well for the rookie as he makes his way back to the court.

According to TNT’s Reggie Miller (h/t The Render), Williamson is on schedule with his rehab and “definitely” will be back by mid-December.

The No. 1 overall pick underwent surgery back in late October and was expected to miss six-to-eight weeks. Eight weeks would have him make his debut by December 17 vs. the Nets and Miller’s reporting co-signs that timeline.

Western Notes: Russell, D. Green, Korver, Zion

November 11th, 2019 at 10:42am CST by Luke Adams

Winter weather played a factor in D’Angelo Russell‘s decision to choose the Warriors over the Timberwolves in free agency this summer, according to Chris Hine of The Star Tribune.

The Timberwolves initially appeared to have the upper hand, led by Karl-Anthony Towns, one of Russell’s best friends, and Pablo Prigioni, one of his favorite assistant coaches with the Nets. However, the Warriors swooped in on June 30 with a maximum-salary offer as part of a sign-and-trade involving Kevin Durant.

“I thought the opportunity here was amazing … ” Russell said of the Timberwolves on Friday. “But then when this (Warriors) opportunity came, the weather is way better, so that helped me. … I did my first winter in New York and that was tough. So to get the opportunity to go somewhere where it’s warm again, I think that played a major part in my plan.”

Here’s more from around the Western Conference:

The Warriors are still months away from getting Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson back, but it appears Draymond Green is ready to return to the lineup. Anthony Slater of The Athletic tweets that Green is “trending toward” returning on Monday vs. Utah after missing five games due to a torn ligament and small bone chip in his left index finger.
It was an eventful offseason for veteran sharpshooter Kyle Korver, who was traded from the Jazz to the Grizzlies to the Suns, then was released by Phoenix before signing with Milwaukee. As Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune writes, Korver admitted he was surprised by the initial trade out of Utah. “Yeah, definitely caught me off-guard. Like I said, I’ve been traded a few times before — very rarely do you see it coming,” Korver said. “You know, the NBA is a beautiful job for a lot of reasons; living stability is not one of them.”
Pelicans fans anxiously awaiting Zion Williamson‘s debut will almost certainly have to wait until at least December, as head coach Alvin Gentry recently confirmed that a November return date would be “ambitious” (Twitter link via Andrew Lopez of ESPN). Williamson, who is recovering from meniscus surgery, said last week that his knee is “getting stronger day by day” and is confident he’ll still have plenty of opportunities to contribute over the course of the 82-game season, writes Jim Eichenhofer of Pelicans.com.

Alex Kirschenbaum contributed to this post.

And-Ones: Duval, G League Draft, NBA Rosters, Williamson

October 25th, 2019 at 8:29pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Trevon Duval has signed a G League contract and is eligible for this Saturday’s draft, Adam Johnson of 2 Ways & 10 Days tweets. Duval was a two-way player for the Rockets last season and became a free agent when the team didn’t give him a qualifying offer this summer. He was claimed by Houston in March after the Bucks waived him. The former Duke guard made three cameo appearances with Milwaukee.

We have more from around the basketball world:

Journeyman center Hasheem Thabeet, former Lakers guard Vander Blue, and forward Trey Mourning, son of Alonzo Mourning, are some of the more interesting names on the list of players eligible for the G League draft, according to a league press release. The Northern Arizona Suns have the first pick.
There are 108 international players from 38 countries and territories on current NBA rosters, according to a league press release. The most-represented countries among the 108 international players on opening-night rosters are Canada (16 players), Australia (nine players), France (eight players), Croatia (seven players) and Serbia (six players). The Mavericks lead the league with seven international players.
Zion Williamson‘s knee injury created disappointment for the NBA’s TV partners, as Joe Vardon of The Athletic explains. TNT and ESPN wanted nationally-televised games featuring the Pelicans during the opening week of the season to showcase Williamson. They were stuck showing the Pelicans without the top pick in the draft on the court because it was too late to make a change. Vardon goes in-depth on how the national TV schedule is designed and notes that the Lakers play 21 of their 30 nationally -televised games after New Year’s Day because the networks wanted to feature LeBron James and Anthony Davis during the team’s playoff push.
Amida Brimah, the former UConn center who was in training camp with the Pacers, has suffered a torn right ACL, Scott Agness of The Athletic tweets. He was slated to join Indiana’s G League team, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants. Brimah will undergo surgery next week, Agness adds.