Zion Williamson was supposed to be the next great talent in the NBA, the savior of the New Orleans Pelicans who have struggled a fair bit in recent history. The youngster looked ready to make that happen in his sophomore season as well, becoming an All-Star and averaging superstar numbers on incredible efficiency. The story unfolding at the moment hasn’t quite continued in such a romantic fashion though.
Zion has struggled with injury for the entirety of this season. He has an issue in his foot that was initially expected to keep him out for a few months but escalated into over half the season. Recent reports have suggested a setback that could require another surgery and could see him miss effectively the entirety of this season.
It’s not been great for Zion, who has also dealt with questions about gaining weight and his commitment to rehabbing himself. His loyalty to the franchise has also been talked about, with suggestions that a move elsewhere after his rookie contract isn’t entirely out of the question. More speculation has now been added to the fire after it came to light that Williamson’s name was nowhere to be found in the e-mail sent to season ticket holders asking them to renew for next season.
Interesting 🤨
The #WBD #Pelicans just sent email to season ticket holders about renewals for 2022-23 season and…
NO MENTION OF ZION 😳 pic.twitter.com/Qqu9kibRWk
— Fletcher Mackel (@FletcherWDSU) February 21, 2022
“Interesting. The #WBD #Pelicans just sent email to season ticket holders about renewals for 2022-23 season and… NO MENTION OF ZION.”
While within itself this doesn’t mean all that much, it’s not exactly nothing either. The other potential reason that Zion hasn’t been mentioned could be the fact that the organization isn’t sure he will recover enough to play a large part in next season, which is again, concerning.
There’s no reason at this juncture to believe that Zion Williamson is looking to leave New Orleans, but the signs are not looking good for the Pelicans franchise. They need to figure out a way to get Zion healthy and on the court, if they don’t want to end up blowing another highly-rated and extremely talented No. 1 pick.
