Zion Williamson, CJ McCollum Spoke over ASG Weekend After Pelicans, Blazers Trade
Breathe easy, New Orleans Pelicans fans.
Zion Williamson and CJ McCollum have at least spoken.
ESPN's Malika Andrews reported McCollum said Williamson reached out to him after the guard revealed during an interview with TNT over All-Star Weekend that he had not yet spoken with his new teammate.
Williamson was already in the headlines Tuesday when JJ Redick said on First Take the power forward has been "detached" as a teammate and should have reached out to McCollum after the Pelicans acquired him via trade from the Portland Trail Blazers.
"This is a pattern of behavior that we are seeing again and again with Zion," the former NBA sharp-shooter, who just so happened to be teammates with Williamson during the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons, said:
Christian Clark of NOLA.com reported the 21-year-old "has been uncommunicative with" teammates while recovering from his fractured right foot. The Duke product is rehabbing in Portland and away from the team facilities.
"Williamson's poor conditioning has complicated his recovery from the multiple serious injuries he's suffered with the Pelicans," Clark added while pointing out it remains unclear when or if he will play his first game with the team this season.
The Pelicans surely envisioned Williamson as their franchise cornerstone for years to come when they selected him with the No. 1 overall pick of the 2019 NBA draft.
While his debut during his rookie season was delayed by injury, he was a force in his second season while averaging 27.0 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game while shooting 61.1 percent from the field.
Yet the momentum from that effort has stalled this season because of his health. It is not difficult to envision a team with Williamson, McCollum and Brandon Ingram all on the court together challenging even some of the best contenders in the Western Conference, but the big man has to be on the floor for that to happen.
He has at least reached out to McCollum at this point, and perhaps New Orleans can play its way into the play-in tournament during the season's stretch run. It is two games behind the San Antonio Spurs for the No. 10 seed in the Western Conference.
