Former Zion Teammate Says He Has 'LeBron James-Like Talent,' Questions Love for Game
One of Zion Williamson's former teammates reportedly feels the New Orleans Pelicans star is being held back not by a lack of talent but by a lack of "love" for the game, ESPN's Marc J. Spears said Friday on NBA Today.
"I talked to one of his former teammates, who says his talent is so big that it's actually LeBron James-like talent," Spears said about Williamson. "He thought he could even be better than LeBron James.
"The problem, of this same former teammate, is that he said, 'But he doesn't love it like LeBron James.' And that's the big problem."
Spears said he then asked the former teammate if he would recommend his team trade for Williamson should the Pelicans make the forward available.
"He said, 'If they asked me, I'd tell them not to,'" Spears said.
Spears' comments come three days after the Pelicans announced Williamson would be sidelined "indefinitely" with a Grade 2 right hip adductor strain.
ESPN's Shams Charania reported the same day Williamson would miss at least three weeks with the injury.
Williamson, who had already missed eight games earlier this season due to a left hamstring strain, has been plagued by injuries throughout his career.
Including missing the entirety of the 2021-22 amid recovery from surgery to address a right foot injury, Williamson has played in less than half of the Pelicans' games since the franchise selected him at the top of the 2019 draft.
Williamson has shown flashes of elite talent, which allowed him to average 26.5 points per game and earn two All-Star nods between 2020-21 and 2022-23.
His struggles to stay healthy, however, will likely limit the return the Pelicans could expect to receive should they shop the two and a half seasons remaining on his contract ahead of the February deadline.
The Pelicans, who are sitting 15th in the Western Conference after a 3-20 start to the season, would meanwhile get limited value out of a tank after trading an unprotected 2026 first-rounder to the Atlanta Hawks in order to draft Derik Queen last June.
Given the Hawks' control of the pick and Williamson's relatively low trade value, the Pelicans may have to wait and hope their star forward can bounce back down the stretch rather than move him this winter.
