Zion Williamson has been ruled a flight risk by his employers.
As much as it pains me to say it, Zion Williamson will miss the remainder Summer League play, on direct orders from the Pelicans’ Executive Vice President Basketball Operations David Griffin. For added context: Zion Williamson was yanked from a contest vs. the Knicks after a knee-on-knee collision with an opposing player. The Pelicans haven’t given the league ficial any indication Williamson has suffered a debilitating injury any kind.
And yet, the organization has elected to air on the side caution, rather than risk his health in scrimmages the like. It’s true, players entering next season without a guaranteed contract can leverage a strong Summer League performance into a roster spot – but that’s hardly the prile a player Zion’s stature: entering his rookie campaign with the weight a middling NBA franchise on his shoulders.
Zion will move forward from this incident without issue,” David Griffin wrote in the Pelicans’ ficial disclaimer Twitter. “However, in an abundance caution, we have made the determination that he will not appear in game action for the remainder the NBA Summer League. He will continue to take part in training and conditioning with our performance team.”
Needless to say, Zion Williamson was able to wow the onlookers in limited playing time (two days ago vs. Knicks). With Williamson ruled out the contest in the early going, the role sparking the Pels to victory fell on 2nd-year point guard Frank Jackson and his 30 points on 11–17 shooting. Unfortunately the same couldn’t be said for R.J. Barrett on the opposing side the court, his 10-point contribution falling short expectation. The game ended: Knicks 74 – 80 Pelicans FT.