The biggest priority for the New Orleans Pelicans this offseason is keeping Zion Williamson healthy and on the court playing basketball. Jake Madison explains why it isn’t the NBA Draft or Free Agency but Zion. Plus, what do the Pels need to do to keep Zion on the court and what does Zion need to do to stay on the court? Does the team need to overhaul their medical staff?
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37 Comments
Is Zion Williamson the biggest priority for the Pelicans?
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We need a backup to the backup
Not saying he’s not injury prone or anything I think he’s just a bit unlucky this season if you guys can remember everything had to go thru Zion before he’s hurt the workload was too heavy. If Bi wasn’t out for so long I’m sure Zion’s less likely to get injured.
1. Zion's health
2. Perimeter shooting
3. Rim protection
Zion is done to me. Just trade this guy. He's not serious about his craft man. Ja Mo have been in post season since being drafted except one year.. Zion was the best thing coming in NBA since Labron. Dude have disappointed in everyway to me. He's to heavy and it want change. Time for Pels go in different direction. Dude need to grow up.
If he hasn’t learned his lesson in 4 years. I doubt he learns it in year 5. It’s probably best to trade him to be completely honest.
If Zion comes in under 260, he will destroy the league. Zion contact needs to be done over. His clause should be his weight under 260. Can you imagine Zion weighing 260 and under. To quick for any big man and too strong for any wing or guard.
I'm tired of his dam stepfather trying to live his dreams through somebody else son. He is going to have Zion hated along with the media like that bum K Perkins.
I have heard a lot vets say he need a new team around that his team including his dad are giving him bad advice which then only reflects on Zion not them and all said one thing you don’t wannabe the guy no one likes in the locker room because of who is around you. Zion needs to take former NBA players advice especially a guy like Charles Barkley who had to deal with the same thing or even Shaq both guys played out of shape and over weight the difference is the had to deal with it at older age then Zion. Also with CJ I feel he should have been played way less minutes and some of that is on Willie Green because CJ didn’t play great at all the last half of the season because of the injury
Point blank period Zion needs to get his butt in real shape, even early in the season he was too big, if the kid isn’t dedicated to fitness, juicing, eating the proper diet his career will be short point blank period, he needs to be no more than 250 at the start of training camp if he’s truly dedicated to being a professional basketball player
We have to draft the kid from Kansas who can shoot or that 7 ft center from Duke
pels showed one thing this year they all brothers i ll be here next season
Right on!!!
No drafting a big great center
Zion just mad he cant play yet everyone is but hell be fine ol ballin a$$$$
The whole team needs conditioning
Stem cells
They say Z dose not stretch before games that's the problem if that's is true. I don't think his weight has anything to do with it he looked in shape at the beginning.
Might as well take the L on the chin and trade him while you still can
Build around BI
Good morning Jake. I have been saying for a while that the medical staff may need a shakeup. BI missed a lot of games as well this past season, Jose has been out a while also. Numbers of missed games and medical staff is the constant in all of this. Also, Joel Embiid missed most of his first 4 years and played less games than Zion (pointed out by the ESPN broadcast team during the game), so there is no need to give up on Zion. The Pelicans may need to take a page from the 76ers to find a solution.
Let’s be real. Zion has the potential to be a star. He is not one yet. “His camp” doesn’t sound professional for this level of the game. For one, you get a lawyer to review the contract and all the details. There’s no way we should be talking about the contract now. Zion needs new people around him for his next level of his career. But when that extra money comes next season, he’ll see who’s really for him and who wants a check.
In my eyes this is on Zion. The team has seemingly bent over backwards to appease him at this point he’s just gotta stay healthy.
At this point, he and his camp are bullying the organization.
Why not build around BI? Zion will fit in just fine
Yes Zion. I wonder what his weight is now and what percent of body fat? If he can get in shape is a big if.
I was never a fan of talking about what weight Zion has been playing at, but when playing around 275 he had gotten hurt every single year. Do something different and drop 25-30lb during the summer with a restricted diet. Few more pounds should drop as the season goes on… if he still gets hurt playing at sub 260 then….yeah….
They are paying him to do a job why he needs to connect with hes people or camp do his damn job
The Pels primary focus this off-season should be changing the narrative. Zion is not the team. He has done nothing to get the Pels to the playoffs or keep them out of the playoffs. We as fans need to shift focus on the players who has contributed to the success of the team.
Zion needs to take this off season and not touch a basketball until like late summer. Work on himself mentally, physically and take control of his career and not let his team have so much power. He is still young but has to start making steps to control his own brand.
If you haven't noticed the entire league is injury prone. Its apart of the game you just have to wait and see because there is nothing you can do. Everyone body is different. You got to be insane if you think he is not going to get hurt next season. Remember Zion plays through contact in the paint majority of his shots and contact equals injuries. You have the good and the bad. This last injury was noncontact so consider yourself lucky.
David Griffin, Trajan Landon, and Willie Green all need to have a meeting with Zion, his agent, and his parents to put them on notice that they respect the close relationship that Zion has with his parents, but the New Orleans Pelicans is a NBA franchise multi-million dollar business, & they are adversely affecting the contractual relationship between the Pels and Zion with their interference and their undue influence on Zion! From that point forward, the Pels need to regain control over this situation! They need to hire a retired drill sergeant to be Zion's overseer to work with his personal trainer and personal chef to get him back in NBA basketball shape and on schedule! The overseer needs to keep him on a daily schedule of when he goes to sleep, when he wakes up, what he eats, when he eats, what workouts he does, when he workout, when he can take a day off, and when he can't take the day off!!! The front office needs to work closely with Zion's agent to supervise his progress or any lack of progress! End of discussion! Problems solved! We are going into Zion's 5th NBA season! This drama is getting very ridiculous!!! Enough of the front office handling him with kid gloves, enough of his parents treating him like he's a baby, and enough of Zion not acting like he's a fully grown man!!! Lose the excessive weight, get in NBA basketball playing shape, eat clean, workout, take good care of your body, earn every dollar of that max contract that you agreed to, honor your contractual obligations with the Pels, and for God's sake develop a consistent jump shot just like Zach Randolph did!!! It's not that hard to just do the right things!!!!
Jake, you should totally find a beard grooming products sponsor for the podcast. I have beard envy bro.
Thanks Jake. One would think that Zion and BI would respect CJ enough to trust his guidance. From the moment we traded for CJ, I knew he was that mature locker room leader that we needed for so long.
1. Z needs to grow up.
2. Speak for himself and stop letting others in his camp drive his career.
3. Invest in getting and staying in shape.
If he really wants to be on court like he suggests, then my man do what you need to do in order to get out there and stay out there. You're not a kid anymore and you're costing this team & its fans time and $$$. Either Flock UP or get the Flock OUT.
1. Agree Z wants to play – so much so that the mental challenges follow when he is injured. He probably reinjured the hamstring because he tried to do too much too fast.
2. Therefore the focus needs to be 100 percent on what needs to be done to keep him healthy over a long NBA season. Given his biomechanics, load management seems to be a legit issue with him.
3. Same for the other players. Too many of them were out or underperforming for too many games for the team to succeed. When this happens year on year, its not bad luck – you need to make changes. Curious to see what they will be & hope you track that storyline through the off season.
How do the Pelicans prevent hamstring injury?
We need shooters and play making off the bench. Hopefully we can get Keyonte George in the draft.
What do we do with Hayes this offseason do we extend him or do we let him go?