Following Stan Van Gundy’s departure from New Orleans, the Pelicans have several questions to answer this offseason, and one of those might include Zion Williamson, their biggest star.
The former Duke player is expected to lead this team to compete in the stacked Western Conference alongside Brandon Ingram. However, things haven’t clicked so far, although the team has improved in his first two seasons in the association.
Entering his third season with the franchise, Zion might have a real chance to compete for a playoff spot with the Pels. But, members of his close circle are reportedly growing unhappy with the team and their inability to assemble a good squad for the forward.
According to Shams Charania, Joe Vardon, and William Guillory of The Athletic Williamson’s family is frustrated with the “Pelicans direction.”
Parting ways with Stan Van Gundy after just one season is not the biggest problem facing the New Orleans Pelicans. They have been unable to put together the right elements to make rising star Zion Williamson and his family happy, and multiple sources have told The Athletic that certain family members want Williamson on another team.
For months, sources from all NBA corners have pointed to the Pelicans as a heap of dysfunction. There was a growing unease between Van Gundy and his players, and Van Gundy and the New Orleans front office, which came to a head Wednesday with the veteran coach and organization agreeing to part ways with three years left on his contract. Most of the attention, however, from numerous sources across the league, has centered on Williamson’s family members’ thinly veiled unhappiness with the Pelicans, and whether those feelings seeped into the player’s own views.
This is a complex situation for the Pels. Now they have to look for a new head coach while planning the moves they’ll make to bring the right players for Williamson. He is expected to become one of the best players in the league, and if the Pelicans don’t learn from past mistakes, they will see another superstar leave to be in a better position to compete for a title.
