When the New Orleans Pelicans made a trade to acquire C.J. McCollum from the Blazers, it was supposed to send a message that the team was serious about building around Zion Williamson. But all that optimism was quickly wiped away when McCollum revealed that he hadn’t even heard from Williamson since the trade.
Williamson has yet to play in a game this season due to a foot injury, and he’s spent much of that time away from the team entirely.
But J.J. Redick, a former New Orleans teammate of Zion’s, isn’t surprised at all to see how Zion is acting. Redick appeared on Tuesday’s edition of First Take to call out Zion’s pattern of behavior.
Redick said:
“This is definitely something. This is a little bit insane to me. There’s a general decorum of behavior that you should apply as a teammate. … This just shows a complete lack of investment in your team, in the organization, in the city. I get that he’s hurt and away from the team. But you just traded for one of the 50 best players in the league. A guy that’s supposed to be paired with you. Reach out and say hello.
“This is a pattern of behavior with Zion that we are seeing again and again. Look, I was his teammate. I can describe him as a detached teammate. That is an accurate statement. This is just basic, basic level of humanity being a teammate — send a text to a guy when he gets traded to your team. That is just normal behavior. That is the bar minimum that you have to do.”
The Pelicans even left Williamson out of an email promoting season-ticket renewals — a deliberate move that showed just how sour things are with the former No. 1 pick. New Orleans obviously exercised Zion’s rookie extension into the 2022-23 season, but his situation with the Pelicans could become murky beyond that if the relationship doesn’t improve.
Williamson’s health is a huge concern, but if Redick noticed a detached pattern after just 1.5 seasons in New Orleans, it’s pretty obvious that the rest of the organization sees it too.
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