New Orleans Pelicans star Zion Williamson will be reevaluated in 4-6 weeks after receiving an injection in his injured right foot, the team announced on Thursday. Williamson had surgery to repair the fractured foot in the offseason, and, since the bone has not healed properly, he has yet to play in a game this season. Earlier this month, he was scheduled to return to practice, but continued soreness got in the way.
According to the Pelicans, Williamson will only be able to take part in “low impact, partial weight-bearing activities for an extended period.”
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Williamson met with Dr. Richard Ferkel of the Southern California Orthopedic Institute in Los Angeles on Wednesday, per the team, and then got the “biologic injection into the fracture site to stimulate bone healing.” Ferkel has evaluated and performed surgery on a long list of NBA players, including Joel Embiid, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson.
In the short term, this shrinks New Orleans’ already slim odds of sneaking into the playoffs. Without its franchise player, New Orleans has gone 9-21 on the season, with the 26th-best offense, 26th-best defense and 26th-best net rating in the NBA. It has won six of its last 11 games, however, and is only 3.5 games out of the last spot in the play-in.
Viewed from another angle, the Pelicans are only 3.5 games ahead of top spot in the draft lottery. And since the lottery odds are flat for the league’s three worst teams, New Orleans doesn’t need to be all the way at the bottom of the standings. Only the Oklahoma City Thunder, Detroit Pistons and Orlando Magic and Detroit Pistons are in better position, tank-wise.
The optimistic perspective, then, is that the best thing the Pelicans can do for Williamson’s future is to be patient with his foot and draft another potential star next June. If you’re thinking big picture, though, note that Williamson has played in 85 of a possible 174 regular-season games since they drafted him, and they’ve had a different coach in each of his three seasons. New Orleans needs to get him healthy, keep him healthy and find some semblance of stability.
