Pelicans' Zion Williamson Reveals Offseason Plans

Zion Williamson's Offseason Plans Should Be Encouraging for Pelicans Fans

Williamson vowed to use an in-house resource to aid his development and professional approach to the game: "Having someone like Joe, Hall of Famer... I'll put myself under his wing. Gaining any basketball knowledge I can from him and using my resources to reach out to other Hall of Famers... This is gonna be a different summer how I approach it."

The 25-year-old power forward is referring to Pelicans Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Joe Dumars, who is a champion not only as a player but also as an executive. Dumars played 14 seasons in the NBA, all with the Detroit Pistons, and was known as an iron man. The 6x All-Star played in at least 67 games in 13 of the 14 seasons in the league, and played all 82 games three times in his career. That kind of availability is what the Pelicans only hope for Zion the rest of his time in New Orleans.

Dumars was adamant that Williamson is in the team’s future plans, telling the media that the Pelicans have no desire to trade the All-Star forward. "Listen, we have no intentions of doing that," Dumars told reporters this week. "We're going into the offseason looking forward to Zion coming back next year and playing great again next year."

Williamson had career lows in points (21.0), rebounds (5.7), and field-goal attempts (13.0) this season, despite playing the second-most games of his career. The former No. 1 overall pick seems to have his weight under control after a couple of seasons being out of shape. Still, for the Pelicans to progress, Williamson must be more aggressive offensively. Also, his developing any semblance of an outside shot would no doubt propel his game to the next level, while giving defenses fits on a nightly basis.

One advantage of receiving additional time with Dumars is that Zion typically stays in New Orleans during the summer, while other teammates may travel or practice elsewhere. "New Orleans is home for me. I don't say that because I'm sitting in front of these cameras or I'm talking to y'all. A lot of guys, when the offseason hits, a lot of guys leave the city. I live here. I stay here in the city. I go out, I do different things to try to get to know the city more. Like, this is home for me. I've been here since I was 19 years old.”

Williamson is no longer a 19-year-old rookie, but rather an almost 26-year-old, who has many expectations on him to deliver success for the Pelicans. Up to this point, he has yet to accomplish that, but many hope that under the tutelage of a former champion like Dumars, they can bring success and winning to New Orleans for years to come.