The Pelicans have poured resources, time and energy to protect Williamson’s health. They have changed members of the staff and even changed some of their culinary practices in an attempt to support him. They have talked with him about protecting his body from extra hits. Griffin has stood up for him privately, sending video clips to the league to illustrate how Williamson was getting beat up. When that didn’t work, Griffin ripped NBA referees publicly for not protecting Williamson and was fined $50,000.
Source: Brian Windhorst, Andrew Lopez @ ESPN
What’s the buzz on Twitter?
Eliot Clough @EliotClough
#Pelicans Plus is live!
We’re joined by @LynBWT of @EspnLafayette to talk
-What the deal is with Brandon Ingram
-Where the Pels go from here
-Should we be encouraged by the Zion Williamson update?
Tune in! #WontBowDown
📸David Zalubowski/Associated Press
https://t.co/zdMmEmUePt pic.twitter.com/FqG6c0ij8D – 9:55 AM
Eliot Clough @EliotClough
Where to go from here: Brandon Ingram’s struggles, Zion Williamson update, and More with @LynBWT of @EspnLafayette twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1… – 8:16 PM
Christian Clark @cclark_13
There is no more depressing Pelicans statistic from the past few years than this: Lonzo Ball, Jrue Holiday, Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson played 17 non-bubble games together. They outscored opponents by 130 points in 259 minutes. – 10:01 AM
Eliot Clough @EliotClough
It’s really difficult to create content about a team that is this bad early on
Not much else to say between the polar opposites of “tank” and “Zion has to come back for them to win” – 9:55 PM
Christian Clark @cclark_13
Willie Green on Zion being cleared to do contact work: “There is still some work to do in front of him, but it’s definitely light at the end of the tunnel.” – 6:16 PM
Ira Winderman @IraHeatBeat
Heat sit out Kyle Lowry, Bam Adebayo against Pelicans, as Jimmy Butler returns. sun-sentinel.com/sports/miami-h… Also: Heat taking charge(s); the Zion update. – 5:42 PM
Joe Cowley @JCowleyHoops
After many hours of thought and prayer, choice of weaponry for the 2021-22 campaign will be the Zion 1s. pic.twitter.com/Xnzj7clgdI – 5:20 PM
Will Guillory @WillGuillory
STORY: Zion Williamson was cleared to ramp up his workouts, but questions remain about the Pelicans star’s return theathletic.com/2960740/2021/1… – 4:36 PM
Keith Smith @KeithSmithNBA
Double @FrontOfficeShow today? You got it! @Trevor_Lane and I got together again to talk Zion, Nets and an actual transaction by the Lakers! Check it out and subscribe to the show!
youtu.be/TL0EUMKR8LQ – 3:50 PM
Jake Madison @NOLAJake
Locked on Pelicans is live!
🏀 Brandon Ingram clutch troubles
🏀 How to fix end of game issues
🏀 Zion Williamson injury update
🎧 https://t.co/BETlDzBFEv
Watch on YouTube!
📺 https://t.co/4DBES9YyFq pic.twitter.com/aD3RfezAne – 3:30 PM
Kurt Helin @basketballtalk
Zion Williamson cleared for contact, will ramp up workouts, still no timeline for return nba.nbcsports.com/2021/11/17/zio… – 1:37 PM
Jason Calmes @BourbonStShots
In case you were wondering how reliant the Pelicans are on Zion for an offensive efficiency boost, here is PTS Added for 2020-21 and 2021-22. This doesn’t factor in lineup combos / a more appropriate pecking order. – Michael Pellissier pic.twitter.com/wLaAJkSyNP – 12:59 PM
Jake Madison @NOLAJake
Locked on Pelicans is live!
🏀 Brandon Ingram clutch troubles
🏀 How to fix end of game issues
🏀 Zion Williamson injury update
🎧 https://t.co/BETlDzBFEv
Watch on YouTube!
📺 https://t.co/4DBES9YyFq pic.twitter.com/09pS5gg0RY – 12:49 PM
Jim Eichenhofer @Jim_Eichenhofer
Five things (Zion update; #Pelicans in Miami tonight for 6:30 CT tip-off; Garrett Temple “Off the Court” Q&A): on.nba.com/3cmENMm – 10:21 AM
Will Guillory @WillGuillory
Zion Williamson has finally been cleared for contact drills and could soon be cleared to participate in full team drills.
But there are still some key questions looming for what comes next. I tried to answer a few of them here: theathletic.com/2960740/2021/1… – 10:06 AM
Rashad Mobley @rashad20
Body-shaming Zion Williamson says more about a culture of critics than about him – The Washington Post via @Candace Buckner washingtonpost.com/sports/2021/11… – 9:43 AM
Candace Buckner @CandaceDBuckner
Body shaming is still fair game in sports discussion. Just listen to all the folks laughing at Zion Williamson’s weight: washingtonpost.com/sports/2021/11… – 8:30 AM
Oleh Kosel @OlehKosel
Zion Wiliamson’s return date is drawing nearer, so much so that a reasonable guess can be made as to when exactly we’ll see him in uniform again.
Just continue to keep those fingers crossed for no setbacks! https://t.co/YaFf0eYWQy pic.twitter.com/nMwerPpHQn – 7:04 AM
Adam Zagoria @AdamZagoria
Zion is back playing at Cameron!
Gardner-Webb has a dude named Zion Williams averaging 4 ppg and 7 rpg – 7:08 PM
CBS NBA @CBSSportsNBA
Zion Williamson injury update: Pelicans star cleared for contact drills, one-on-one work
cbssports.com/nba/news/zion-… – 5:40 PM
Christian Clark @cclark_13
Zion Williamson took another baby step. He can start doing contact work. Next week, we should find out if/when he will be a full go in practice. nola.com/sports/pelican… – 5:37 PM
Andrew Lopez @_Andrew_Lopez
The Pelicans announced that Zion Williamson has been cleared for contact and will start 1-on-1 drills while progressing towards team drills.
The next set of imaging will be Nov. 24.
espn.com/nba/story/_/id… – 5:33 PM
The Vertical @YahooSportsNBA
Zion Williamson has been cleared to participate in contact drills and 1-on-1 workouts, the Pelicans have announced. pic.twitter.com/0ukMrRUunE – 5:11 PM
Scott Kushner @ScottDKushner
Did everyone get the email about Zion???
Anyway, sounds like good news he’s progressing and doing contact drills.
When he gets cleared for full practice that will be the big hurdle. – 5:07 PM
Michael Scotto @MikeAScotto
Zion Williamson has been cleared to participate in contact drills, starting with 1-on-1 workouts, Pelicans say. The next update will be November 24 to determine if he can participate in full team workouts. – 5:06 PM
Chris Mannix @SIChrisMannix
Zion Williamson has been cleared to participate in contact drills, beginning with 1-on-1 workouts and progressively working towards full team workouts, per Pelicans. – 5:04 PM
Christian Clark @cclark_13
Zion Williamson has been cleared to do 1 on 1 contact drills, the Pelicans say.
He’ll have another round of scans Nov. 24, which will determine when he can be a full-time participant in practice. – 5:03 PM
Will Guillory @WillGuillory
Zion Williamson has been cleared to participate in contact drills, beginning with 1-on-1 drills and progressively working towards full team workouts, per the Pelicans.
He’ll undergo another round of tests on his foot on Nov. 24. – 5:03 PM
JD Shaw @JShawNBA
The Pelicans say Zion Williamson (foot) has been cleared to participate in contact drills, starting with 1-on-1 workouts and then working towards full team workouts. – 5:02 PM
Marc Stein @TheSteinLine
The Pelicans say Zion Williamson has been cleared to participate in contact drills, beginning with 1-on-1 workouts and progressively working towards full team workouts. – 5:02 PM
Andrew Lopez @_Andrew_Lopez
The Pelicans announce Zion Williamson has been cleared to participate in contact drills beginning with 1-on-1 workouts.
His next update will be on Nov. 24, which will determine if he can be available for full team workouts. – 5:02 PM
More on this storyline
I don’t know how much he currently weighs or if team officials have a target weight they want him to hit before he’s cleared. Based on what I’ve seen, I can say he doesn’t look like someone who’s severely out of shape. And even if he is in fantastic shape, the team will want him to go through a series of practices to see how his foot responds to a ramp-up in his workload and physical contact against other players. -via The Athletic / November 17, 2021
There’s a simple solution for Zion Williamson’s reported weight issues … so says Kenny “The Jet” Smith, who tells TMZ Sports all the Pelicans star needs to do is focus and eat less. -via TMZ.com / November 8, 2021
NBA Central: Zion Williamson reportedly reached ‘north of 300 pounds’ this offseason, per @Jake Fischer pic.twitter.com/vLu4bX4Cws -via Twitter @TheNBACentral / October 20, 2021