Zion Williamson
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A new trade prediction has Zion Williamson going to the Chicago Bulls ahead of the NBA trade deadline.
Former All-Star Zion Williamson opened up about dealing with the difficulties of the NBA job during a recent interview with ESPN’s Malika Andrews. The interview featured a question about the toughest point of Williamson’s career since he’s dealt with many injuries with the New Orleans Pelicans. Zion provided a more honest look into some of his struggles than he has ever shared before with the NBA world.
The following quote came from Williamson on ESPN’s NBA Today:
“The most difficult point was when I missed my third year with a broken foot. There was a lot of criticism on my weight, my care for the game. I’m in Portland rehabbing, not knowing if my foot is going to heal. It was frustrating.
I was really low because I just wanted to play basketball. I just wanted to play the game I love. But every time you turn the TV on or every time that I check my phone, it was negative criticism. At the time, it did a lot.”
Williamson revealed that battling through a painful foot injury and having to hear harsh criticism negatively impacted him. New Orleans drafting Williamson with the top overall pick led to high expectations, but he’s been unable to make his impact truly known with the constant injuries.
Williamson’s Third Season Was Toughest Time
Williamson specifically referenced his third season in the NBA as to when he felt lowest mentally in the NBA. The 2021-2022 season saw Williamson not playing a single game due to the foot injury keeping him out of action, despite strong expectations for him and teammate Brandon Ingram to win more.
Various platforms found photos of Zion showing a weight gain and those images went viral to create more criticism. Williamson revealed that he couldn’t watch television or check his phone without having to deal with the fallout from critical comments about his weight gain.
The previous season saw Zion making his first All-Star appearance to make it feel even worse to take steps back after that. Williamson did make the All-Star team again in his first season back and still puts up impressive stats to this day on the otherwise losing franchise.
New Orleans Still Banking On Zion
The Pelicans are having a nightmare season of losing badly while not owning their own draft pick. Last season’s NBA Draft saw New Orleans sending the future unprotected pick in a deal to draft Derik Queen with the Atlanta Hawks’ original pick.
Williamson has played 45 of the team’s 62 games so far, but they still can’t figure out a path towards winning. New Orleans will likely see a top ten pick heading to the Hawks in the 2026 NBA Draft. The future still revolves around Zion being able to make them relevant.
Pelicans’ management traded away Ingram and kept Williamson as the face of the franchise. Young prospects Queen and Jeremiah Fears must progress behind Zion as the top player for the team to have any success moving forward. Williamson will hope that his seventh season next year will be the one to set up their young core to make the playoffs.