The arrival of Zion Williamson was supposed to be one of the biggest storylines of the 2019-20 NBA season, but the Pelicans have played 34 games and we have yet to see Williamson make a regular season appearance following his knee surgery to repair a torn meniscus.
Williamson was initially given a recovery timeline of six-to-eight weeks after surgery on October 21st, but his rehab is still ongoing, and he only just participated in his first full practice on Thursday. According to a report from Shams Charania, the Pelicans are hopeful that Williamson will return to the lineup at some point in January.
Some analysts, however, aren’t on board with the Pelicans’ plan for Williamson’s NBA debut. Talking heads have been openly debating the idea of a redshirt year for Williamson for weeks, with some arguing that an ultra-conservative approach is best for a player that has suffered repeated injury problems already in his young career. In a passionate rant, ESPN’s Jalen Rose advised the Pelicans to not even think about putting Zion on the floor, even if Zion is adamant that he’s ready to play.
“You see him running? He runs like me, and I’ll be 47 in a couple of weeks. You know how old he is? He’s 19 years old! He is 19 years old!
Do not, Pelicans, put Zion Williamson out on the floor in January. If he tells you he’s ready to go, you say ‘alright big fella, I appreciate that…. Practice for two more weeks and we’ll figure it out.’
…. I’m not going to just rush him out there like some jock and think that he’s going to win five to 10 games and it’s going to change the dynamics of our season, because it ain’t. It is not! They’re better off getting another lottery pick. This season is over.”
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