Report: Pelicans to Restructure Player Care Team amid Zion Williamson, More Injuries

The New Orleans Pelicans have a promising roster that has been marred by injuries to key players such as Zion Williamson in recent seasons, so changes are reportedly coming to their medical staff.

Christian Clark of the Times-Picayune reported Tuesday that the Pelicans "plan to restructure their player care and performance team" this offseason in hopes of avoiding similar situations.

Pelicans vice president of player performance and care Aaron Nelson has been in charge of that department for the past four seasons, per Clark. Under his watch, New Orleans has finished seventh, 27th, 20th and seventh in games lost due to injury, according to Man-Games Lost.

Williamson, who missed the entire 2021-22 campaign while recovering from foot surgery, was limited to 29 games last season while dealing with a lingering hamstring injury. He was initially projected to return around the All-Star break, but a setback in his recovery caused him to sit out the last 45 games of the regular season as well as New Orleans' play-in tournament game against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The 22-year-old wasn't the only New Orleans star to be sidelined for an extended period. Swingman Brandon Ingram missed 29 consecutive games due to a toe contusion and made just 45 appearances during the season. It was his second straight year playing in fewer than 60 games.

Pelicans executive vice president David Griffin addressed the issue of untimely injuries, saying multiple things need to change in order to get the team where it needs to be.

"What I don't want is the narrative about our team is, 'Oh my God, they have to fix the medical situation," Griffin said in April. "No, we have to fix a lot of stuff. We have to do a whole bunch of things better. That's just a part of it."