NEWSLETTER
Arguably the biggest news to come out of Media Day this offseason was the unexpected health status of Zion Williamson.
The New Orleans Pelicans star forward suffered a foot fracture earlier this summer before receiving surgery shortly after. Front office leader David Griffin told reporters that his recovery timeline “should” have him ready for the start of the regular season. However, as the days passed by, that news became harder and harder to believe.
We learned earlier this week that Williams has yet to even run on the court with the season less than a week away. Head coach Willie Green told reporters he would receive scans later in the week to determine the next step. Now, ESPN’s Andrew Lopez has reported that the results from those scans are in, and while Williamson can begin the “next step” in his recovery, Williamson will not be re-evaluated for another 2-2.5 weeks.
David Griffin says Zion Williamson said surgeons reviewed scans and he is cleared for the next step.
“No fixed timeline”for return to game action. Next scans will be 2-2.5 weeks.
Zion will not be on the floor for the first week of games.
— Andrew Lopez (@_Andrew_Lopez) October 14, 2021
Even then, who knows if Williamson can return to full on-court activity. All we do know for now is that he will miss the first full week of the regular season, which means the Chicago Bulls will dodge the 2019 No. 1-overall pick when they meet the Pelicans for their home-opener on October 22nd.
All things considered, that is pretty big news for a Chicago team that is not only undersized in the frontcourt but hoping to get off to a confident start with a new-look roster. We also can not forget that this matchup might only be Patrick Williams’ third game back in the mix, so taking a tough matchup with Williamson off his plate should make his adjustment into this starting lineup that much easier.
