“Stop being a baby bro, you’re a professional athlete” - Marcus Spears speaks out on Zion Williamson, compares his early hype to LeBron James, and tells him to get his ‘a** in shape’
New Orleans Pelicans big man Zion Williamson has been in the news recently for his reported distance from the team. He was ripped apart by former NBA player JJ Reddick for not reaching out to the newly-traded CJ McCollum.
JJ Redick isn't impressed with Zion Williamson for not reaching out to CJ McCollum after the Pelicans acquired the guard on Feb. 9th. 👀 https://t.co/PQdAB1qKwT
Zion Williamson's conduct has been frowned upon by the NBA community. While the situation between him and the franchise is unclear, his name was left out of a memo sent out by the organization.
On the latest episode of Swagu and Perk, former NFL star Marcus Spears got together with former Boston Celtics big man Kendrick Perkins to discuss several topics concerning the NBA. They started the show diving into the Williamson situation.
Swagu went off about his disappointment with Zion's work ethic and went on to encourage him to get in shape to secure the bag, above all else.
"If he wanna get out, here's my thing about getting out. You can want to leave New Orleans, you can want to leave the Pelicans. I don't know what it is, I'm not breaking any news about Zion wanting out. The consensus is that's what everybody thinks, is that he wanna get out of there. But what I will say is; you think somewhere else you ain't gonna have to work?"
"Stop being a baby bro, you're a professional athlete. It's time to take control of everything that you can possibly control."
"Commit to this window, bro. You're ain't gonna be in a position to make this type of money ever again in your life."
"LeBron has made over a billion dollars in his career because of his ability to play basketball. Zion Williamson came out of high school with the same type of hype. He went to Duke with the same type of hype and was drafted with the same type of hype. Don't look back 15 years from now Zion, and talk about what you could have did cos you headed in that direction big fella."
ESPN writer Brian Windhorst has previously reported that Zion's career is in jeopardy of being derailed, and changes need to be made soon. Things are not looking good for the Duke product, who has been away from the team for a while.
The New Orleans Pelicans are starting to get in rhythm without Zion Williamson
Although the Pelicans set up their team with Zion Williamson as the tip of the spear, they have found a way to function without him. They started the season terribly, winning one of their first 13 games.
However, they have started to pick things up, going into the All-Star break with many positives. They are currently ranked 12th in the Western Conference standings and have a decent shot at at least reaching the play-in spot.
Zion Williamson has not played a single game for the Pelicans this season due to a foot injury he sustained during the offseason. He had to undergo surgery but was expected to return by November. Unfortunately, it was reported that he regressed in his recovery and is currently out with no timeline for his return.