"Doesn't really shoot, below-average defender" - NBA insider gives damning assessment about building around Zion Williamson
Since being drafted as the No.1 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, Zion Williamson has only played 114 of the 328 games as part of the New Orleans Pelicans roster.
When he manages to stay healthy on the court, Zion showcases his dominance as a baskteball player with his size and athleticism. However, therein lies the problem, he is considered unreliable in being available on the court even after reducing his weight to 284 lbs before the 2022-23 season started.
Tim Bontemps spoke on ESPN's "Get Up" regarding Zion's situation:
"When Zion Williamson was drafted, he was supposed to be a generational prospect," Bontemps said. "You're talking about a guy who's a 6'5" center, who doesn't really shoot, who's, at best, a below-average defender. That's not a guy that you can easily build a team around."
With Zion Williamson having missed over 214 games in four seasons, it can be hard to find a certain rhythm on the court on both the offensive and defensive ends.
This season, he averaged 43.9% on his two-pointer jump shots and 36.8% on his three-pointers and is yet to find footing when it comes to playing defense as he has a 113.2 rating.
But with all of his struggles, the potential and the flashes of the kind of player that he is when healthy is something special to witness, which has now become an interesting situation for the New Orleans Pelicans with the team trying to secure the eighth seed while playing in the play-in tournament.
Injuries have robbed the organization of the full Zion Williamson package, with the Pelicans possibly sneaking their way into the playoffs without their All-Star forward.
With Williamson becoming an unrestricted free agent in July 2024, his future with the franchise is something to keep a close eye on, especially with all of the missed games that have hampered his development as a player.
Zion Williamson's impressive stats in a short season
Even when Zion Williamson misses a lot of games, he still manages to put up incredible numbers, as he averaged 26.0 points on 60.8% shooting, 7.0 rebounds and 4.6 assists.
His current season average continues his ongoing streak of 22.5 points per game, which was his rookie average and 27.0 points during his sophomore season.
Zion was the Pelicans' leading scorer before being shut down for the season as he was also pivotal in leading them to the number one seed in the West back on December 14, 2022.
During that month, the Pelicans were on an electric 7-game winning streak with Zion Williamson averaging 30.0 points, 9.2 rebounds and 4.8 assists.