Pelicans

Report: Zion Williamson Lacks ‘Trust’ In Pelicans Exec David Griffin

February 25, 2022

Former No. 1 overall pick and Pelicans star power forward Zion Williamson doesn’t trust head of basketball operations and the front office, perhaps revealing why he has been distant from the team, per Christian Clark of NOLA.com.

Williamson has missed the entire season after undergoing foot surgery over the summer and his return seems increasingly unlikely. He has spent time rehabbing the injury in Portland, away from the team.

Per Clark’s inside look at the situation, Williamson and his representatives “didn’t trust” executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin “to be truthful” after Williamson injured his knee prior to his rookie season in 2019. Griffin has also come under fire from other players both in private and in the media, including former Pelicans guard J.J. Redick.

There was also a report that Griffin and former Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry got into a verbal spat after a Pelicans-Kings game earlier this season. Gentry is now interim coach of the Kings.

Of course, Redick also criticized Williamson for failing to reach out to shooting guard CJ McCollum, acquired by the Pelicans at the trade deadline. McCollum has since said he and Williamson have connected.

“Griffin has had issues with plenty of people since the Pelicans hired him in 2019. He and Williamson probably share the blame for the fractured relationship between the team and its biggest star,” wrote Steve DelVecchio of Larry Brown Sports.

“But lately, it is Williamson whose reputation has taken a major hit. The former No. 1 overall pick reportedly made no effort to reach out to his new star teammate after the trade deadline.”

Griffin just happened to be the general manager in Cleveland when the LeBron James-led Cavaliers won the championship in 2016. But that’s a distant memory, and his time in New Orleans has been anything but smooth.

Clark’s latest piece is just the most recent example. The Pelicans (23-36) have won five of eight, but lost two straight, entering Friday’s road game vs. the defending Western Conference champion Suns.