Zion Williamson can’t be franchise cornerstone for New Orleans Pelicans

It’s become abundantly clear that Zion Williamson can’t be viewed as a franchise cornerstone for the New Orleans Pelicans. 

When Zion Williamson entered the 2019 NBA Draft, the one big concern surrounding him revived around his future durability. He was a unique athlete with unprecedented size and skill but one with a bit of an injury history. And coming into the league, that was the biggest question about Zion.

It wasn’t whether Zion could play at the next level. I believe most thought he would be able to excel and dominate due to his measurables and skill. It was more about whether his body would be able to handle the NBA rigors. And while we don’t know for sure if it’s his body not being able to hold up or not, it’s pretty clear that the injury concerns have certainly changed the perception of Zion as an NBA player.

Or, at least it should.

Zion is a great player, but it’s become quite clear through his first four years in the NBA that he should not be viewed as a franchise cornerstone for the New Orleans Pelicans. Zion has only played in 29 games this season and there’s a very real chance that he may be shut down for the remainder of the season.

The latest regarding Zion’s recent rehab is that he’ll be reevaluated in two weeks. But, at that point, with only 2-3 weeks remaining in the regular season, it wouldn’t make that much sense to bring him back.

But his injury history stretches well beyond this season.