David Griffin Slams Zion Williamson: ‘A big part of it is on him’

After star forward Zion Williamson missed 48 or more games for the third time in his four NBA seasons, Pelicans basketball operations head David Griffin voiced confidence in team professionals in charge of managing player health on Friday.

David Griffin Slams Zion Williamson: ‘A big part of it is on him’

“We’ve got incredibly good people doing it,” Griffin asserted when asked how high his confidence remained in the team training and medical staff. “We’ve got to do a better job of translating those things to availability.”

Williamson missed his 46th straight game after suffering a right hamstring injury on January 2 as the Pelicans lost to Oklahoma City in a Western Conference play-in game on Wednesday night.

Williamson said the day before the game that his injury had healed, but he added that he was still not prepared to play because he didn’t “feel like Zion.”

He was declared ineligible to start in the play-in game on Wednesday. However, he engaged in on-court work during warm-ups before the game, finishing with a windmill slam that only raised additional concerns about why he couldn’t have been utilised.

Griffin summarised the recently completed season in an effort to provide answers to such questions.

“He wasn’t physically cleared to play,” Griffin said. “He was playing one-on-none. He went up and windmill dunked pregame. That’s not the skill set that makes you capable of playing skilled, five-on-five basketball. He was never cleared to play five-on-five basketball. So, for people to now say,‘He chose not to play basketball,’ that’s nonsense.

“He was never cleared to even play three-on-three full court,” Griffin added.

Williamson has not appeared in at least 30 games in three of his four NBA seasons. He only played up to 61 games in his second season. Due to a foot ailment, he did not participate at all in the 2021–22 campaign.

Nevertheless, he was given a five-year agreement by the Pelicans that starts the next season and would cost between $193 million and $231 million, depending on incentives. Williamson has played in 114 games, averaging nearly 26 points and seven rebounds while making 60.5% of his shots, sometimes spectacularly. New Orleans is relying on this potential.

Griffin said that maintaining the 6-foot-6,285-pound Williamson has been a learning process for both the team and player.

“A big part of it is on him,” Griffin said. “There is a lot he can do better. And he would, I think, tell you that. He’s certainly owned up to that.

“We need to do a better job of maybe examining the whole situation top to bottom,” Griffin continued. “We’re not intentionally not doing the right things. So, I think finding a way to put him in the best situation to succeed is important and his participation in that is a big part as well.”

 

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