Pelicans’ CJ McCollum says there are ‘misconceptions’ about how New Orleans feels about Zion Williamson, insisting he wants the oft-injured star to ‘maximize his talent’
- Zion Williamson played just 29 games through the entire 2022-23 NBA season
- New Orleans lost in the play-in to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday night
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New Orleans Pelicans guard CJ McCollum believes there is responsibility on the franchise and Zion Williamson to ensure he is ready to raring for next season before providing further clarity on the entire situation.
Williamson played just 29 games through the 2022-23 NBA season and missed the Pels’ play-in loss to OKC Thursday night. While frustration reigns among media and fans, McCollum attests the mood is different inside the locker room.
‘There’s misconceptions about how the team feels, how the organization feels… about Zion,’ he said on Stephen A’s World Saturday.
‘The moral of the story is we all want him out there on the court. We all understand the importance of the gravity he has, we understand the importance of the greatness that he possesses — and me personally, I want him to maximize that.
‘I want him to maximize his talent, I want him to maximize his window, our window as a team, our window as an organization.
CJ McCollum believes it is a collective effort to get Zion Williamson back to his best shape
‘I think for him obviously battling through injuries… it was a frustrating process. The interview he did didn’t really give him the fair light he kind of deserved in this situation.’
McCollum echoed sentiments put forth by Pels VP David Griffin, suggesting the entire organization could ‘have done better collectively’ during his rehab process.
Williamson caught the eye with pregame dunks ahead of the season-ending loss but both Griffin and McCollum have insisted that he could not have competed in an actual game of basketball.
‘He was injured. He tried to come back and was injured. He wasn’t physically ready or mentally ready to come back.
‘[He needs to be] taking the challenge to make sure he’s doing the right things to ensure himself the ability to be available for us for a full season.’
Williamson was an All-Star despite playing just 29 games throughout the 2022-23 NBA season