Pelicans GM gets honest about Zion Williamson

Former Duke standout Zion Williamson has had an extremely interesting NBA career thus far with the New Orleans Pelicans.

At his best, he has been completely dominant, averaging 27 points per game in the 2020-21 season while shooting 61 percent from the field.

At his worst, he has appeared out of shape while rehabbing from injuries, and his commitment to both the Pelicans organization and basketball, in general, has been put into question.

Regardless, the team decided to keep him around long-term, signing him to a five-year $193 million designated rookie extension that could earn him as much as $231 million over the duration of his contract.

For the time being, all seems well in Pelicans camp in terms of Zion, but general manager David Griffin gave an honest admission on Saturday while discussing Williamson on the Basketball Illuminati podcast, saying that the organization has managed Williamson’s injuries poorly.

“We did a really bad job organizationally at getting him in front of people and letting him speak for himself,” said Griffin. “Because he wasn’t playing basketball, being around the game was hard for him. I didn’t require him to speak to the media and he didn’t want to speak because he wasn’t playing. He wanted that to be for people who are playing.”

There was quite some time that Williamson was away from all of the spotlight last season while rehabbing his injury, where these rumors of his disinterest with the Pelicans organization emerged.

“If we would have controlled the narrative, it would have made your jobs a lot more boring, but it would have put him in a better position to succeed,” Griffin added. “I feel like, to a huge degree, I failed him in that sense.”

The Pelicans got a whole lot better last season with the addition of star guard CJ McCollum, and adding Williamson into that mix next year should make them one of the most intriguing teams in the Western Conference next season.

[Audacy, Basketball Illuminati]