New Orleans Pelicans vice-president of basketball operations David Griffin claims his rookie star Zion Williamson is “on schedule” during an interview with ESPN Radio New Orleans.

Via ESPN's Andrew Lopez:

“He's on schedule,” said Griffin. “He's progressing exactly as I hoped he would. … You can map out where eight weeks could be.”

The No. 1 overall selection was ruled out prior to the start of the regular season with a torn meniscus, expected to take eight weeks to fully heal. Yet Griffin was noncommittal to the actual timeline, saying it could be seven, eight, nine, or 10 weeks that it takes him to recover.

While that in itself if contradictory to his initial statement, the eight-week mark would be Dec. 16. The Pelicans face the Orlando Magic the day before (Dec. 15) and the Brooklyn Nets the day after (Dec. 17) — making both possible games in which the Duke phenom can make his awaited debut.

The Pelicans have been mysterious when it comes to his injury, as they never offered true clarity as to when his injury occurred, saying he rather tore his meniscus over time. The team also sat him out only minutes into his Summer League debut, hinting at issues with his playing weight.

Those were later dispelled, with Griffin noting that's not one of their primary concerns, but rather the stability of his knee and his consequent recovery. The Pelicans don't have a reason to rush the No. 1 pick back into action, despite having won three in a row in the wake of some bodies getting healthy.

If his absence extends to 10 weeks or more, it's likely New Orleans could pause his return until the flip of the calendar and wait until January 2020 to see what Williamson can do.