Very few franchises in the NBA are in a situation as dire as the New Orleans Pelicans. With a 2-10 record, they are essentially being pushed into tanking the season. They do not even have first-round picks in the 2026 Draft. To make things worse, Zion Williamson, the player they built their entire 2025-26 vision around, is out injured — again.
Advertisement
Kendrick Perkins, like many in the NBA community, is baffled. Since Williamson was drafted No. 1 by the Pelicans in 2019, he has only shown flashes of his brilliance. The rest of the time, he has been sidelined with injuries, missing more than 50 percent of New Orleans’ regular-season games over the years.
His hamstring, in particular, has been a recurring problem. Recently, he suffered another grade 1 injury that has ruled him out for two weeks. Perkins now wants the Pelicans to be more transparent about what is going on.
On the Road Trippin‘ podcast, Perkins recalled how excited the city of New Orleans was when Zion joined the roster six years ago. But today, it’s more than fair to describe him as a colossal disappointment.
Talking about the fans, Perk added, “They’re probably frustrated and tired with this organization and the direction it’s going in as well, and now, not only do you have Zion being out, again with a hamstring injury…”
“And we have to get a doctor out here because I got some questions. I’ve never seen a guy injure his hamstring that much,” Perkins continued. “So, I need to get some science behind this.”
For Williamson, it’s a difficult situation as well. No player, let alone someone who had the potential to be generational, likes sitting games out. And Williamson is someone who’s spent the majority of his career riding the bench and cheering his helpless teammates on.
The Pelicans aren’t able to win games by just relying on Jordan Poole’s magic. He needs someone with him, and with CJ McCollum also gone (traded to the Wizards), the immediate future appears bleak at best in Louisiana.
