An executive who works for the New Orleans Pelicans wants No. 1 overall pick Zion Williamson to “work as hard as he can and be a sponge from our veterans.”
The Pelicans have surrounded Williamson with three solid veterans in Jrue Holiday, JJ Redick and Derrick Favors. New Orleans GM David Griffin has already said multiple times this summer the Pelicans are Holiday's team, as he doesn't want to put too much pressure on Williamson.
“(We want Zion) to work as hard as he can and be a sponge from our veterans,” the Pelicans exec told Keith Smith of Real GM. “Zion is going to be really good. He’s probably going to be good to start, but the most important thing is that he’s a hard working kid and wants to get better. That’s all we want right now. To put more on his shoulders is asking a lot of someone his age.”
At Duke, Zion Williamson averaged 22.6 points, 8.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game while shooting 68.0 percent from the field, 33.8 percent from beyond the arc and 64.0 percent from the free-throw line. The Pelicans aren't expecting those type of numbers from the high-flyer as a rookie. They just want Zion to display good practice and game habits.
Some believe New Orleans can make the postseason in 2019-20, with Williamson the heavy betting favorite to win the 2020 Rookie of the Year award. It's going to be a lot of fun watching Pelicans games next year. Griffin deserves a lot of credit for keeping the franchise afloat after the Anthony Davis trade.
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