Less Always Equals More for Zion Williamson
The less we hear about the Pelicans franchise cornerstone, the better. Here's why.
When Pelicans General Manager Bryson Graham and Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations David Griffin took to the stage for media day earlier this week, there was the usual surplus of questions to be asked and answered. Among the topics at hand:
the contract situations of Brandon Ingram and Trey Murphy III
the lack of a true veteran center on the roster
the role of new arrival Dejounte Murray
There was a striking difference here, however, to the media days of old. And not because New Orleans is entering the season without any unknown variables at play (who are we kidding?). If anything, there’s more than the standard.
Rather, it was different because they’re usually driven by conversations around an individual who - on this occasion - was not the subject of a question until over nineteen minutes of elapsed time with Graham and Griffin behind the mics. You know his name. You know where this is going.
Zion Williamson has had, all things considered, a relatively quiet offseason.
He grew a beard.
He toured the Great Wall of China.
He watched the neighbouring Saints stomp the Dallas Cowboys in Jerryworld.
And these are the offseason updates we want when it comes to the 2019 first-overall pick. This is positive, good, insert any optimistic adjective. I’m happy about this. And unless you’ve got a personal vendetta against the kid, you should be as well.
Put lightly, it’s not beneficial to revisit the copious troubling headlines regarding #1 over his first five years with the team. Some have questioned his commitment. Some have attacked his character. Plenty can be labelled as harsh and unfair.
Early last season, even the local New Orleans media began tossing out some hit pieces against Zion that - funnily enough - don't show up in any of the drafts of my book, How to Keep a Superstar Happy in One of the League’s Smallest Markets. I digress.
Main takeaway: there’s been a lack of news surrounding Williamson that makes one raise an eyebrow; a lack of cause for concern.
Remember, when Zion plays, the Pelicans win at the rate of a contender.
Without even accounting for overlapping missed time from Ingram and others, the Pels won at a 59% rate over the past two seasons when Williamson was on the floor. Just having him out there is enough to all but guarantee a place in the postseason.
With that established, consider the noise when he’s fit and playing versus when there are lingering injuries or off-court troubles. It’s night and day. Like I said about him last Christmas, “Williamson is exactly as advertised on the court - he has just dealt with injury issues.” There’s not a lot of negatives to stir when Zion is playing basketball because, in case you forgot, he’s pretty damn good.
Now we can consider those last two notes together. When there’s less noise around Zion, it means Williamson is healthy and playing basketball. When Williamson is healthy and playing basketball, the New Orleans Pelicans are a great NBA team.
When A = B and B = C, A = C.
When there’s less noise around Zion, the Pelicans will almost by consequence be a bonafide playoff team in this league. “Almost” accounts for the potential that he forgets how to play basketball. You can figure out the odds on that one.
This analysis is rather simple, yes. I’m not under the impression that I’m giving you some expert insight. It just feels to me - as someone who consumes plenty of sports in general and even more content focused on my favourite teams - that the dialogue often gets overcomplicated.
Narratives about Zion’s commitment to basketball, his personal life, or anything else you might read about him that just feels cynical in nature, are very rarely to do with his on-court product.
When he is on the court, on the other hand, the national media tend to turn away. Apparently, only negative Williamson dialogue sparks the interest of ESPN and others. Well, so be it. I can’t shout about how I don’t want to watch the lacklustre national coverage and then cry when they don’t cover my team and my guys.
What’s more important to me and to everyone with an interest in the Pelicans is that Zion Williamson stays fit and plays NBA games. That’s when the storm of disruptive headlines is quietest, and it’s when New Orleans is at its best. Win-win.
As for the team, patience will remain the name of the game. When you’re struggling to even identify the starting five, you know you’ve got lots of moving pieces yet to materialize into a contender-shaped puzzle.
At the same time, it’s exciting. Small ball lineups have produced exciting results. Will it work in larger quantities though? How does Murray change the answer to that question? Can any of the young bigs go through a rapid development phase?
The answers will only be found as games are taken under the belt. For Willie Green and his coaching staff, though, a prerequisite for the experimentation is having Williamson out there on the floor. A quiet, steady, consistent Zion is a recipe for success in and of itself.