Richard Jefferson is once again going off on Zion, and the references are just top-class. While on the Road Trippin Podcast, Jefferson was asked about his restraint against complementing Zion for showing up in shape. Richard explained to his co-host that Zion had to show consistency throughout the season, to receive any kind of real appreciation.
Advertisement
Jefferson even raised questions surrounding Zion’s potential as a player to build around. The ESPN analyst even compared Zion’s weight fluctuations throughout the season to going from Tupac to Biggie.
The reference led with questions from RJ about Zion’s reliability as the anchor of the team today, and for years to come. For Mr. Jefferson, Zion needs to first play well for an entire season, before any proper judgment can be handed out.
Richard Jefferson needs to see more from Zion Williamson
While on his podcast, Road Trippin, the 2016 NBA Champion was asked why he still hasn’t commented positively on Zion showing up to pre-season in shape. Richard replied straight forward, telling his co-host,
“I can root for him and still hold him accountable. Like what the f**k! I can still root for you, but it’s like you can’t show up looking like Tupac and end the season like Biggie. It doesn’t work that way. It doesn’t work that way. And every time there is an injury, you can see him visibly gain 20 pounds. Every single time. That’s not good for…now you gotta get back into shape and you gotta drop 20 pounds. It’s more pounding on your knees, its more pounding on your ankles. You carrying around 320 pounds versus 285 pounds, that adds up. Every step you take is an extra 15 pounds, on your ligaments, on your joints, on your tendons, on everything everything. So if he is constantly fluctuating at that weight, at that size, I can’t build around this dude. If you can’t build around him, then what are we doing here? Wasting other players time“.
Richard Jefferson was apt to question the Pelican’s future with Zion. The young forward has yet to even stay healthy through one entire season for his career. Jefferson’s confidence is also running low in the Pelicans as an organization. This is due to their approach in handling Zion’s return to the game.
Zion is yet to play full minutes in any preseason game, as the Pelicans have his minutes capped at 35 minutes a night. Jefferson believes that the system of slowly ramping up minutes won’t work.
This is because Jefferson believes that without Zion playing full minutes, the Pelicans can’t win this season. Thus, the strategy of resting Zion has to be abandoned, for the gain of possibly starting with a decent record.
Zion makes amends as he returns to playing
Zion Williamson has been very vocal about his struggles with weight, motivation, and dealing with off-the-court drama. The Pelicans star even recently admitted to changing his lifestyle and approach to the game. Zion even mentioned how he is following LeBron’s blueprint to stay healthy and extend longevity.
Williamson isn’t all about just injuries, cause when he plays, Zion is a problem. He averaged 26 points, 7 rebounds, and 4.6 assists for his career so far, and to many, he has yet to even scratch his ceiling.
On being asked by the media what his off-season goals were, Zion responded with ” Being Unguardable“. The new look and confidence Zion possesses hopefully help him reach his all-NBA potential sooner, if not later.
