New Orleans Pelicans: 2019-20 NBA season preview
By Phil Watson
Storyline 1: All roads lead to Zion
Zion Williamson is not your prototypical NBA rookie. In an era when the vast majority of top prospects all come with the same caveat, “needs to add bulk and strength,” Williamson arrives in the New Orleans Pelicans as a 19-year-old who is already a very grown-ass man.
Listed at 6’7” and 285 pounds, Williamson posted a record-setting vertical leap during Duke’s summer combine testing last year, a leap so prodigious that the rack had to be elevated to accommodate his leaping ability — a rare feat for a guy who looks like he could chase down quarterbacks from a one-hand down position on the edge.
As a freshman at Duke, Williamson was the total package, averaging 22.6 points, 8.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 2.1 steals and 1.8 blocks in 30.0 minutes per game while shooting 68.0 percent from the floor.
His outside shooting will need work — Williamson made 33.8 percent on 2.2 3-point tries per game and shot only 64.0 percent from the foul line, averaging 6.2 attempts a game from the stripe — but his athleticism is top-notch.
Williamson pulled off an all-time blocked shot on a corner 3-point attempt by fellow lottery pick De’Andre Hunter, coming from the other side of the lane to get to the opposite corner. It was stunning.
Throw in the exploding shoe incident that cost him five games and he’s already putting together a legend-worthy tale.
He followed that up with the most-dissected nine minutes of Summer League action in human history before leaving his debut with a bruised knee and sitting out the rest of the session in Las Vegas.
He will be under an extensive amount of scrutiny this season. The Pelicans — a 33-win team last season with a new, young cast — will be on national TV 20 times this season and it’s all because of the hype surrounding Williamson.
Given the strained knee in college and the bruised knee at Summer League, there may be some concerns about his durability and at least one analyst questioned his conditioning.
ESPN’s Seth Greenberg said Williamson was at risk for an injury because he was “significantly overweight” and not in shape.
His former college coach, Hall of Famer Mike Krzyzewski told Adam Zagoria of Forbes that Williamson should not have played at all in Las Vegas because his schedule of appearances leading up to and following the draft didn’t allow the player to be in the proper physical or mental condition to play.
It will be that sort of a year for Williamson, where every move he makes or doesn’t make will be discussed, debated and drilled into the proverbial ground.
The hype is real and with good reason, but it could be a wild ride for the rookie in 2019-20.