“We Pay You To Play Big Fella”: Kevin Garnett Reacts to Zion Williamson Sitting Out vs Trailblazers

Zion Williamson is having a season he’d like not to remember. After what looked like the best offseason of his young NBA career, Williamson played exactly six games before suffering a hamstring injury that kept him out for nearly two months. He made a much-anticipated return when the Pelicans hosted the Timberwolves earlier this week.

Kevin Garnett spoke about his return on Ticket and the Truth. Discussing the same with Paul Pierce and Tony Allen, Garnett said, “Zion looks like he should’ve been back 10 games ago!”

“He looked like he was in the best shape I’ve ever seen him in,” added Pierce.

In his 28 minutes on the floor, Zion showed us exactly why he’s touted as a star. The 24-year-old threw down a 360 windmill on a fastbreak which left fans gasping. However, soon after the game it was announced that Zion would miss the team’s next contest against the Trailblazers.

— NBA (@NBA) January 8, 2025

Garnett wasn’t too fond of this update. After being excited about what Zion showed in his return, KG disappointingly expressed, “then sat out the next night.”

At this point, Allen chipped in and said the Pelicans should shut him down for the season. This did not sit right with KG, who firmly believes Zion should be on the court. “Shut the season down? He just did a 360 windmill and then you try to tell me…”

Allen reminded KG of the risk of Z getting injured. Garnett responded by going on a rant.

“Man, he been injured already. Just came back… You getting paid big fella. We pay you to play big fella, you wanna play?”

To make matters worse, Zion not only missed the Trailblazers game, but then was suspended one game by the team for being late to the flight to Philadelphia.

Zion is a star, but it looks like the star is moving out of orbit from New Orleans.

Zion Williamson is on the trade block

Back in December, the New Orleans Pelicans made a huge splash by announcing that they’re open to offers for everyone on the roster except Trey Murphy, Herb Jones, and Yves Missi.

This includes their 2019 #1 pick Zion Williamson. So far the rumors about Zion potentially getting traded have been overshadowed by the Jimmy Butler situation, it won’t be a surprise if the forward isn’t on the team’s roster come February.

Paul Pierce jokingly brought it up on Ticket and the Truth, “After that 360 windmill, his trade value went up.”

There has been a hypothetical trade scenario of Zion linking up with Victor Wembanyama in San Antonio. The two #1 picks together would form a formidable front-court duo which would be insanely tough to guard.

The biggest plus point of trading for Zion is his non-guaranteed contract. Even though he still has nearly $126.5M over 3 years on his contract left, the clauses on the same allow the team to void the contract. We’ll just have to wait and see if any team takes a chance on the 24-year-old.