Zion Williamson

After he was limited in minutes throughout his time in the NBA bubble, New Orleans Pelicans star Zion Williamson said "it felt great" to log more than 33 minutes on the floor during the team's 114-92 win over the Miami Heat in Monday's preseason game.    

"It was a different feeling. I can't even lie," Williamson said, per ESPN's Andrew Lopez. "It was a different feeling for sure. I think I was only able to finish a game maybe three, maybe four times last year. But it was a great feeling. When the clock struck zero, I was almost like, 'Wow, it's been a while.'"

In the league's bubble, Williamson was limited to an average of 20.7 minutes per game, bottoming out at 14:11 in a loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Aug. 1. 

The No. 1 pick in the 2019 draft, Williamson was limited in the bubble based on guidance from the team's medical staff since he had only practiced in full-squad situations a handful of times before taking the court in a loss to the Utah Jazz, in which he tallied just 15 minutes. 

According to Lopez, Williamson finished 11 of his 24 games last season, though the Pelicans were 3-8 in those outings.

Per ESPN Stats & Information, Williamson played 10:19 of the first quarter Monday, which was more time on the floor than he logged in any first quarters and more than he played in all but three quarters during 2019-20.

The rest of the Pelicans' young stars, including Brandon Ingram and Lonzo Ball, also tallied more than 30 minutes during Monday's win. Williamson racked up 26 points and 11 rebounds while hitting 10 of his 11 free throws.

As an NBA sophomore, the former Duke standout is hoping to contribute more regularly throughout the season, which opens for the Pelicans on Dec. 23 against the Toronto Raptors.

"That's why I play basketball," he said, "to play a lot of minutes and help my team win."

New Orleans Pelicans star Zion Williamson believes he's finally able to fully showcase his talents on the court. 

"I rely on instincts and IQ," Williamson told reporters Friday. "Last year, I could only rely on IQ and my body wasn't able to do certain things. Now I have both of them again. I think it's going to be a big difference."

That should be trouble for Pels opponents this year considering the Duke product averaged 22.5 points and 6.3 rebounds per game in 27.8 minutes a night. 

Williamson will get his first chance to prove his words Monday when New Orleans opens the preseason against the Miami Heat. 

The No. 1 overall pick last year was only able to show off in short spurts. 

He tore his meniscus during the preseason and wouldn't get into a regular-season contest until three months later. When he did return from injury, the Pelicans were consciously easing him into the rotation and placed him on a minutes restriction. 

The situation was frustrating at times for both Williamson and Pelicans fans, especially with New Orleans fighting for a postseason berth, but the franchise wasn't willing to risk one of its star players in a season where just reaching the playoffs was considered exceeding expectations. 

Now, the Pelicans will see if their choice paid off. 

With Stan Van Gundy taking over as head coach and Eric Bledsoe and Steven Adams joining the roster, New Orleans can begin raising the bar for itself.

That means increased expectations for Williamson as well. Given what Van Gundy has said about the sophomore during training camp, there may not be a limit for what he can do.

"He is an unbelievable playmaker for a guy at his size," Van Gundy said. "He's a guy who can take the ball off the glass and lead the break and make plays. He can make passes off the dribble. He can finish over bigger people inside. He's a multi-talented guy. I don't look at him in any way as far as is he a four or a five. I'm not sure those labels matter when it comes to him." 

Zion Williamson needed to speak with a manager.

During the New Orleans Pelicans' media day, Williamson was told he had an 81 overall rating in NBA 2K21. That led the second-year forward to call 2K Sports' Ronnie Singh to confirm his rating was actually an 86:

Those are the kind of privileges you're afforded when you're not only an NBA star but also on the cover of the next-gen edition of NBA 2K21.

There is in fact a version of Williamson in the game that received an 81 rating. He's a member of the Pelicans' all-time team that features current and former players from the franchise's history in Charlotte and New Orleans.

Let this be a lesson to anyone at 2K Sports. If Williamson isn't happy with how his talent is represented in the game, you will be hearing about it.

New Orleans Pelicans star Zion Williamson is ready to show the world what kind of player he can be when healthy.

"Me and [Pelicans] coach [Stan] Van Gundy have talked and from what I know now, there are no restrictions. None," Williamson said, per Andrew Lopez of ESPN.

"When I'm healthy and competing, I'm just a different kind of player," he told reporters when asked what he is looking to prove in his second season. He suggested he will be a better all-around contributor and show he is the "player everyone fell in love with."

According to Lopez, Van Gundy said the second-year playmaker has "no limitations in practice" and passed his conditioning test with ease.

That Williamson could be even better than what he showed as a rookie is a scary thought for the rest of the league.

The Duke product, who New Orleans selected with the No. 1 overall pick of the 2019 NBA draft, averaged 22.5 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.1 assists a night while shooting 58.3 percent from the field. The only thing that held him back and largely prevented him from competing with Ja Morant for Rookie of the Year was his health.

Williamson played a mere 24 games and didn't even make his season debut until Jan. 22.

It was clear that night how special he can be when he dropped 22 points and made all four of his three-pointers in a loss to the San Antonio Spurs. He unleashed plenty of high-flying dunks and impressive rebounding performances while hinting at his potential the rest of the season, but his ability to stay healthy and turn the corner will likely determine New Orleans' playoff chances.

The Pelicans no longer have Jrue Holiday running the show, but the combination of Williamson, Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, Eric Bledsoe, JJ Redick, Steven Adams and Jaxson Hayes is enough to compete for a postseason spot.

Williamson and Ingram are the foundational cornerstones of the franchise, and the former is poised to put on a show in 2020-21 if he stays healthy.

Zion Williamson might have been limited to 24 games as a rookie, but that's not stopping New Orleans Pelicans executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin from hyping up what the 2019 No. 1 overall pick achieved. 

Griffin explained Monday how "it's hard to identify the things he needs to make the most improvement on other than his availability," per ESPN's Andrew Lopez:

"Everything he did, he did at a historically efficient level. And frankly, I would tell you it's the things he enjoyed the least on a basketball court. And he was historically good at it. That's not a function of his improvement, that's more of a function of his opportunity to stay on the floor and be used in those interchangeable ways."

Williamson didn't make his NBA debut until Jan. 22 because of a torn right meniscus. He immediately made his presence felt, finishing with 22 points and seven rebounds in a little more than 18 minutes on the floor against the San Antonio Spurs.

The former Duke star averaged 22.5 points, 6.3 rebounds and 0.4 blocks while shooting 58.3 percent from the field. He was also 6-of-14 on three-pointers.

To Griffin's point, Williamson was eighth all-time in effective field-goal percentage (59.2) among rookies with at least 300 shot attempts, per Basketball Reference. He's also one of 24 players to average at least 20 points, six rebounds and two assists in their first year—a list that includes Luka Doncic, Carmelo Anthony, Tim Duncan, David Robinson, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Lopez also pointed to ESPN Stats & Information data showing that Williamson's 0.808 points per minute were the second-highest of the shot-clock era.

Yet Griffin hit on what will be the biggest question mark around Williamson for the foreseeable future.

There simply aren't too many examples of a 6'6", 284-lb. forward thriving in the NBA, at least to the extent the Pelicans are hoping from their franchise cornerstone. New Orleans is going so far as to work with Williamson to alter how he walks and runs so as to ease the pressure on his knees.

Perhaps this won't be an issue in the years ahead. There was once a time when it looked like Stephen Curry's ankles would hinder his long-term prospects in the NBA.

As long as the Pelicans can keep Williamson on the court, he already showed how devastating he can be.

The New Orleans Pelicans inked their second contract in as many days, agreeing to a five-year, $158 million deal with forward Brandon Ingram. 

Ingram's agents Jeff Schwartz and Jordan Gertler shared the terms of the contract with ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, with Ingram coming off his first All-Star campaign in 2020. The team previously inked Steven Adams to a two-year, $35 million extension as part of a deal to acquire the center from the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Ingram's deal brings the Pelicans to around $132.1 million in salary commitments for the 2020-21 season, putting them just under the luxury-tax line of $132.6 million.

Adams was already on the books at $29.6 million for next season, so his new deal won't kick in until 2021-22. While the structure of that deal is not yet known, it's likely he will have a starting salary of $17.1 million in 2021-22 and $17.9 million in 2022-23 if the contract follows a standard structure.

The Pelicans could have meaningful cap space next summer, but that will be dependent on how they choose to handle a potential extension for Lonzo Ball. The polarizing point guard is eligible for an extension on his rookie contract now and will enter restricted free agency if they're unable to come to terms on an agreement.

New Orleans offered Ingram an extension last summer at a rate lesser than the max, but the league's Most Improved Player bet on himself and it paid off in a major way. It's possible Ball will similarly bet on himself this upcoming season—although that may not be as advisable as Ingram's decision.

Ball will be competing for point guard minutes with Eric Bledsoe and first-round pick Kira Lewis Jr., both of whom could significantly cut into his playing time.  

The New Orleans Pelicans are keeping one of their key pieces around as they eye a competitive future in the Western Conference. 

On Tuesday, New Orleans and Brandon Ingram agreed to a maximum contract extension worth $158 million over five years, Ingram's agents Jeff Schwartz and Jordan Gertler told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

This comes after Zach Harper of The Athletic reported in January that the 23-year-old expected to receive "max money in offer sheets" as a restricted free agent following the 2019-20 campaign.

He was in line for his first major contract after he made $7.3 million in base salary in 2019-20 as one of the best bargains in the league from the Pelicans' perspective.

The Duke product entered the league in 2016 when the Los Angeles Lakers selected him with the No. 2 overall pick. He spent his first three seasons in Los Angeles and flashed his potential, although he dealt with injury concerns and appeared in only 59 games in 2017-18 and 52 games in 2018-19.

When healthy, he impressed in his final season in purple and gold, averaging 18.3 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.0 assists per night while connecting on 33 percent of his three-point attempts.

Los Angeles traded him to the Pelicans prior to the 2019-20 season as part of the package that landed Anthony Davis. It was a win-win deal considering the Lakers had a dominant big man to pair with LeBron James and chase a championship and the Pelicans had an uber-talented youngster to accelerate their rebuild.

Ingram wasted little time establishing himself as New Orleans' top offensive option, especially when rookie Zion Williamson was sidelined with an injury, and he averaged 23.8 points, 6.1 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.0 steals per night in 62 games.

He also improved his outside shooting and hit 39.1 percent of his triples, making him all the more difficult to guard in an offense that forced opponents to collapse on Williamson on the blocks.

It makes sense for the Pelicans to secure his immediate future given that Ingram was a first-time All-Star in his first season with the team and is still in his early 20s. The team has a formidable core to build around for years to come with Williamson, Ingram and Lonzo Ball, among others, and Ingram is a key part of it.

Last year, the New Orleans Pelicans attempted to straddle a line between contending for the playoffs and building around Zion Williamson in a post-Anthony Davis future. Now, the franchise appears prepared to take a step backward.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported the Pelicans traded Jrue Holiday to the Milwaukee Bucks for Eric Bledsoe and George Hill. According to Wojnarowski, New Orleans is also getting three first-round picks and multiple pick swaps.

Once the deal is finalized, here's how the team's lineup might look:

• PG: Lonzo Ball, Eric Bledsoe, George Hill
• SG: JJ Redick, Nickeil Alexander-Walker
• SF: Brandon Ingram*, Josh Hart
• PF: Zion Williamson
• C: Jaxson Hayes
  *Restricted free agent

Given that the Pelicans already have Lonzo Ball, who's due for restricted free agency in 2021, Bledsoe and Hill may not be long for New Orleans.

New Orleans isn't rebuilding so much as it's in asset-acquisition mode. It's almost impossible to imagine the franchise using all the draft picks at its disposal because there are only so many roster spots.

David Griffin, New Orleans' executive vice president of basketball operations, can instead wait another year or two to see what the roster looks like with a healthy Williamson for a full season. Once he gets a better picture, he can consider packaging his draft capital to acquire a proven star.

The Pelicans missed out on the playoffs in 2019-20, thanks in part to Williamson only playing 24 games. But it's hard to look at the current roster and think their postseason chances will improve. Going from Holiday to the pair of Bledsoe and Hill is a net downgrade, and Derrick Favors is a free agent.

Griffin built a championship-winning roster around a generational talent when he was with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Based on how many picks the Pelicans have over the next few years, he doesn't have to rush that process with Williamson in the Big Easy.