New Orleans Pelicans

Should the New Orleans Pelicans move on from Zion Williamson?

Published Apr. 14, 2023 3:17 p.m. ET

Zion Williamson's health, or lack thereof, has been a central storyline throughout his four-year career the New Orleans Pelicans, and it continues to be one after the team's 2022-23 season officially ended Wednesday.

Williamson was seen warming up — windmill dunk and all — ahead of the Pelicans' play-in game against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Despite being cleared to play, he did not make an appearance in New Orleans' eventual 123-118 loss because of what he described as a "mental battle" to return to the court.

"I know myself," Williamson told reporters Tuesday. "If I was to go out there, I would be in my head a lot. I would hesitate on certain moves. And that could affect the game."

In an exclusive interview with FOX Sports in November, Williamson described the effect missing games has had on his mental health. Williamson has not suited up since Jan. 2 due to a hamstring injury and has played just 29 games over the past two seasons combined. What's more, he has played in just 114 out of a possible 308 games (37%) in his four NBA seasons.

Is it time for the Pelicans, which selected him first overall in the 2019 NBA Draft, to officially move off Williamson?

"They (the Pelicans) should not hold out hope because once someone shows you who they are, you should believe them," Joy Taylor said on a recent episode of "Speak."

"This is on Zion now, so all they can do is hope. I'm sure they have provided him with all the resources possible to keep his body healthy. … I'm sure that the Pelicans have got out of their way to make sure that the environment that Zion Williamson is in is the absolute best that it can be for his body to remain healthy, for him to be on the floor. He is too important to this team — he's too important to the NBA, frankly — for it to be a failure of this magnitude and it be on the organization."

Time for Pelicans to move on from Zion Williamson?

The "Speak" crew debates whether the Pelicans should move on Williamson.

"Athletes owe debts to three people, I do believe, and Zion is delinquent on all three of them," Emmanuel Acho added. "The first thing an athlete owes is a debt to themselves … to commit as much as they can commit to their body and thus to the game. Then, they owe a dept to the team that they play for because … in the case of Zion, has given him $200 million dollars — supermax player. Lastly, athletes owe a debt to the fans.

"I understand missing time with the foot injury ... the knee injury, but you're gonna miss four weeks with a soft tissue injury?" Acho said. "They are the most easily prevented."

After suffering the hamstring strain in early January, Williamson resumed basketball activities on March 22, which many believed opened the door for a possible return. However, on April 6, the Pelicans announced that their star forward would once again remain out for the foreseeable future.

Williamson, 22, has played in 30-plus games in a single season just once in his career, which came during the 2020-21 campaign when he appeared in 61 games. He missed the majority of the season prior to that, his rookie season, due to a torn meniscus (knee) and the entire 2021-22 season due to a Jones fracture (foot).

In four season with New Orleans, Williamson has averaged 25.8 points, 7.0 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game. He is shooting 60.5% from the field and 34.3% from 3-point range, as well as 69.1% from the free throw line.

Williamson is one of just eight NBA players to average at least 25.0-plus PPG and 7.0-plus RPG since 2019 (minimum 100 games played).

The Pelicans are 57-57 (.500) all-time when Williamson plays and 82-112 (.423) without him.

He signed a five-year, $193 million max extension that can be worth up to $231 million with New Orleans in July 2022.

Read more: