Amid persistent speculation about whether Zion Williamson is happy in New Orleans, veteran Pelicans guard CJ McCollum came to his teammate’s defense on Thursday, essentially telling reporters to back off while the former No. 1 overall pick recovers from a foot injury.
“Leave the young fella alone, man,” McCollum said, per Christian Clark of NOLA.com. “He’s trying to rehab in peace. Trying to get himself ready to come back. We spoke, and I’ll speak to him later this week or next and just catch up with him. He’s a very talented player. He’s going through a lot. You guys are putting him on the spot on the daily. I think he’s just trying to recover on his own time and focus on his rehab.”
McCollum pointed out on Thursday that he has dealt with multiple foot injuries in his own career, including a hairline fracture that sidelined him for a good chunk of the 2020/21 season. He said he knows what Williamson is going through during his long rehab process.
“You feel disconnected. You feel away,” McCollum said. “It’s tough mentally and physically. I know it’s frustrating.”
Here’s more on the Pelicans:
- In a separate story for NOLA.com, Clark takes a closer look at the apparent tension between Williamson and the Pelicans, revisiting some points he made in a September report and sharing some new details. According to Clark, Williamson and his camp seem to have a “lack of trust” in Pelicans head of basketball operations David Griffin. Clark also says that Zion’s stepfather Lee Anderson has “maintained a great deal of control” over the young forward’s career since he was drafted and that some people who knew Williamson and his family before he reached the NBA have discussed whether Anderson has Zion’s best interests at heart.
- Rod Walker of NOLA.com believes that a lack of communication, both publicly and privately, has exacerbated the divide between Williamson and the Pelicans, arguing that even a brief social media post from Zion reiterating that he wants to be in New Orleans would go a long way toward silencing the noise.
- Larry Nance Jr. and Josh Hart are good friends and would’ve loved the chance to play on the same team rather than being traded for one another, tweets Andrew Lopez of ESPN. They made the most of the situation by agreeing to temporarily swap houses when Nance was dealt to New Orleans and Hart was sent to Portland.
- Nance referred to his recent knee surgery as a minor procedure and said he hopes to be back on the floor soon, according to Lopez. It has been two weeks since Nance went under the knife — reports at the time suggested it would take the forward about six weeks to recover, so he could return in a month or so.
“It’s tough mentally and psychically.”
I did not know that foot injuries and being psychic are related. I imagine that would be frustrating. Well, I suppose the old saying may be true…you learn something new every day.
Hah, I had to track down the video of McCollum speaking to confirm that indeed was a typo from the NOLA.com story. It’s been fixed.
Heheh I was wondering about that.
The acupuncture just doesn’t work like it used to before the foot stress.
CJ is valuable on the court and off the court. I hope he and Zion get a chance to make some noise in the west. Shut down all the skeptics.
Too many red flags. Stepfather is well on his way to destroying Zion’s career. Buyer beware.
That’s a big jump. Let it play out. People said the same thing about the Ball’s and Dad wised up and went away. Lonzo and LaMelo are thriving.
Seems to me Zion’s just quiet and reserved and one doesn’t have to be constantly involved especially when rehabbing to be superstar player and great teammate.
As far a being a bust and folks comparing him to Oden, remember Embiid didn’t play single minute in his 1st 2 seasons and only 31 games in his 3rd.
But was Embiid dealing with a sore foot as his injury and did he appear twice as fat as the day he was drafted or did Joel act as a detached teammate. Did reports of Joel’s friends and family come out saying he didn’t want to be in Philly come out. No no no and no.
Instead didn’t Joel embrace the losing seasons and team culture and start the “process” era. He also played apart in recruiting Jimmy Butler and trying to keep him around.
Zion is a bust
Cool. Sixers still haven’t won anything. *shrugs*
Great comment mate really didn’t know that.
Just showing how it’s a stupid comparison.
Zion is closer to Oden than Embiid
Hindsight is 20/20 mate. People thought Embiid was a bust back then too.
Couldn’t make it work with Ben. Couldn’t stay healthy. He’s come a long way but it took time. Look how in love you are with him now.
Zion’s no bust. Sorry to break it to you. *shrugs*
Let Zion eat his Doritos n drink his Sprite!
Did u ever try the cool Ranch? Their pretty good
Haha Nance and Hart swapping houses is great