The New Orleans Pelicans are in the midst of a season that didn’t quite live up to some of the preseason hype they received. Of course, a major reason why this has happened stems from the absence of Zion Williamson, who has not taken the floor during the regular season due to arthroscopic surgery on his knee.
The Pelicans have wisely decided to take an extra cautious approach to making sure Williamson is ready to play, and as such, the team’s initial 6-8 week timetable for his return has not come to fruition. New Orleans has also kept things relatively tight-lipped regarding his progress, and recently, we learned the team is trying to work with him to change how he runs and walks.
In a bit of good news, Shams Charania of The Athletic reported on Friday that Williamson is getting close to a return to the practice floor. As Charania tells it, the hope is that Williamson will begin practicing in the next week or two.
As for Williamson, the No. 1 overall pick is expected to begin contact drills and practices within the next week or two, according to sources. The Pelicans have not set a timetable for his return. This is a gradual progression due to the uniqueness of Williamson’s body and game, a 6-foot-6, 285-pound specimen the likes of which we have not seen in the NBA before.
Again, there’s zero reason to rush things with how the year has gone so far, but any progress is something the Pelicans will surely love. And beyond working with him on changing his gait, Charania noted that “Williamson has focused on refining his eating habits” in an attempt to get leaner. This all seems like quite the lengthy process to get him back and ready to go, but as we saw during his one year at Duke, when Williamson is firing at 100 percent, he’s absolutely the type of specimen worth waiting for.
