In the wake of the New Orleans Pelicans firing head coach Willie Green a few weeks into the season, NBA analyst Kendrick Perkins had some harsh criticism for Pelicans star forward Zion Williamson during a recent appearance on the “Road Trippin’ Show” podcast.
During the episode, Perkins blamed the erosion of culture in New Orleans on Williamson and blasted the star forward for a lack of discipline and dependability. He also called for the Pelicans to move on from the former top pick.
“This is less about Willie Green being fired and more about Zion Williamson being a culture killer, organization killer,” Perkins said. “… Zion has completely f**ked this organization since they drafted him. Top to bottom. You can’t depend on him, you don’t know what’s going on. It’s so many things you have to do.
“Think about this,” Perkins continued. “The most hyped athlete since LeBron James and he’s on a non-guaranteed max contract. We have never heard of anything like that in life. A non-guaranteed max contract. … I think they should move on from Zion.”
Kendrick Perkins believes Zion Williamson is a “culture killer”
“Zion completely fu*ked that organization since they drafted him. Top to bottom. You can’t depend on him”
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It’s tough to disagree with anything Perkins said here. Williamson entered the league with all the hype in the world, and to this point he’s been unable to live up to that hype because he hasn’t been able to stay on the court.
Williamson has been limited to 30 or fewer games in a season three times in his career. Meanwhile, he’s only hit the 60-games played plateau twice. Worst of all, he’s set to play in a single playoff game after six seasons, which means that his presence on the roster hasn’t led to organizational success.
The extra frustrating thing for the Pelicans is that when Williamson has been healthy, he’s been an absolute game-changer. He’s been named to two All-Star teams and boasts career averages of 24.6 points, 6.8 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 2.0 steals per performance. It’s almost like New Orleans keeps getting teased with his talent, which is tantalizing enough to make the decision to move on from him extremely difficult.
Plus, Williamson’s current trade value is very low due to his persistent injury issues. So, if the Pelicans wanted to move him, they’d basically have to sell for pennies on the dollar.
It’s a tough situation with no obvious answer. For now, the Pelicans just have to hope that Williamson can get back out on the court soon to help the team and potentially boost his own trade value in the process.