Zion Williamson left Duke as the most advertised prospectus since LeBron James.
Through four seasons, Williamson has only been able to show glimpses of his ability while dealing with injuries.
New Orleans Pelicans No. 1 Zion Williamson, out with injury, watches from the sidelines during a game against the Golden State Warriors at the Chase Center on March 28, 2023 in San Francisco, California. (Loren Elliott/Getty Images)
The first overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft has played in just 114 games for the new orleans pelicansmissing the entire 2021-22 season with a broken foot.
ZION WILLIAMSON RULED OUT OF NBA PLAY-IN TOURNAMENT, HAS NOT PLAYED SINCE EARLY JANUARY: REPORT
Two days after the Pelicans’ loss to the oklahoma city thunder In the inning game, New Orleans executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin was asked what he needed to change to make Williamson more available.
«I wish I could point to the answer right away. I think a lot of it depends on him,» Griffin said during the team’s exit interviews, according to ESPN. «I think there’s a lot of things he can do better. And he, I think, would tell you that. I think we need to do a better job of looking at the whole situation from top to bottom a little bit better.»
«I think putting him in the best position to be successful is important. And I think his involvement is a big part of that.»
Zion Williamson, #1 of the New Orleans Pelicans, watches during the second quarter against the Philadelphia 76ers at the Wells Fargo Center on January 2, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
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Williamson caused a stir Tuesday when he told reporters he was «physically fine» despite being ruled out for the inning game.
«Physically I’m fine, now it’s just a matter of when I feel like Zion,» Williamson said. «I know the atmosphere I would go into would be based on playoff experience. So now it’s just a matter of when I feel like Zion.»
Griffin clarified that Williamson had not been authorized to basketball 5 on 5 and that Williamson did not miss the game by choosing to sit out.
New Orleans dealt with injuries on its roster all season, with Williamson playing in just 29 games and José Alvarado missing the last 20 games of the regular season with a right leg injury.
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Zion Williamson, #1 of the New Orleans Pelicans, sits on the bench during the second half of an NBA game against the Toronto Raptors at Scotiabank Arena on February 23, 2023 in Toronto, Canada. (Cole Burston/Getty Images)
«What I don’t want is for the narrative about our team to be, ‘Oh my God, they have to fix the medical situation.’ No, we have to fix a lot of things,” Griffin said. “We have to do many things better. That is only a part.
«I really don’t like that the conversation is ‘Player availability, player availability.’ It’s also, ‘Let’s do the right thing with the players that are available. Let’s get those guys doing the right thing every day. And let’s build the right culture in the one where we can criticize each other in the way that we should be.’ I failed miserably at that. We have to do a better job in many ways.»
Fox News’ Chantz Martin contributed to this report.