Zion Williamson made headlines for all the wrong reasons earlier this year when CJ McCollum revealed that he had yet to speak with Zion after the latter was traded to the New Orleans Pelicans mid-season. Williamson was away from the team at that point rehabbing his injury, but it was still a bit strange that he hadn't reached out to his new teammate after the big trade.
JJ Redick, who himself played alongside Zion with the Pelicans, made his true feelings known about it. Redick called out Williamson for not going out of his way to make sure that McCollum felt welcomed to the team — a gesture that Redick felt was Zion's responsibility as New Orleans' cornerstone superstar.
In a recent interview with Taylor Rooks of Bleacher Report, however, Redick admits that he regrets coming out with those rather harsh comments against Williamson. According to Redick, he should have just kept his mouth shut:
“The first time was with Zion last year when CJ McCollum had given an interview at All-Star break, and they asked him what he and Zion had talked about,” Redick said. “CJ said, ‘I haven't spoken to Zion.' Which I thought was strange — CJ had played five games with the Pelicans at that point. … As a teammate I said he kinda distances himself or whatever, which is something that I said to Zion when I was his teammate. It wasn't like this was the first time, I was just saying it publicly. But I wish I'd handled that differently, and I probably could have just avoided it altogether if I really wanted to.”
To be fair to Zion Williamson, he never really made a big fuss out of the issue. He just kept his head down and did his thing. He also did reach out to McCollum, and they have now established a great working relationship as teammates.
Kudos to Redick as well for owning up to his mistake. In truth, he was just calling it as it is, but it is clear that this man has high regard for his relationships with his former teammates.
Follow Us
Subscribe