Camila Sosa
The New Orleans Pelicans big star probably won’t see the duel in the remainder of the 2021-2022 season. According to the latest reports regarding the 21-year-old: Zion Williamson will not play in the remainder of the NBA campaign, thus definitively missing out on what would have been his third season as a professional at the highest level of his discipline.
According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, while the Duke University graduate’s progress in rehabilitating from surgery carried out early in the campaign on his right foot has been positive and he is getting closer to reaching a workout on the duel, the number of games remaining on the Pelicans’ schedule isn’t enough for Williamson to see minutes this season.
The injury to his right foot has suffered several mishaps throughout 2021 and 2022 that lead him to his current situation, where he has finally been able to continue without problems with his recovery. Since May 4 2021, the 1.98-meter forward has not played a single game or training with the New Orleans team, and this simply adds even more novelties to what has been the most critical stage between the franchise and Zion.
With rumors about him and his family looking for a way out of the organization, the lack of communication between both parties and even with teammates as important as CJ McCollum, who arrived on the team during the trade deadline have only been fuel for a fire that places Williamson with a future away from the Pelicans team.
The first overall pick of the 2019 draft has only played in 85 games in a three-year career, and although he has shown a level that can place him among the best in the entire NBA (25.7 points, 7 rebounds, 3.2 assists), between his problems with the organization and his numerous injuries (including his overweight problems), there is no guarantee that the Pelicans will give him the maximum contract extension for a rookie in 2023, nor that they will trade him to another team during the rookie deadline.
Zion’s situation remains very uncertain, but as we approach the next campaign, everything will begin to be defined little by little.
