The Zion Williamson situation continues to grow grimmer by the week. The former No. 1 pick has been sidelined for a huge chunk of his NBA career since joining the league in 2019. In his first six seasons, he has played 214 out of 472 possible regular-season games, missing more than half of the Pelicans’ games.
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Injuries, everything from hamstring strains to a serious lower back contusion, have kept Williamson away. In the 2024–25 season, for instance, he only appeared in 30 games before being shut down for the year.
Williamson has played merely five games this season, averaging 22.8 points on 48.7% shooting from the field, numbers that don’t scream ‘ZION’ all too much. This is due to a grade 1 left hamstring strain that he’s been nursing. The forward was cleared for on-court activities five days ago. And, needless to say, all that absence has really hurt the Pelicans.
When Zion’s in, he’s a monster. His explosiveness, strength, and scoring ability give the team a legit superstar to build around. But he’s been so unreliable, season after season, that New Orleans has struggled to hit consistency. It’s severely hurt the franchise. And Kendrick Perkins is sick of seeing it.
Perk spoke about Zion on the latest edition of the Road Trippin podcast, where the panel was discussing the Pelicans’ firing head coach Willie Green. “This is less about Willie Green being fired and how Zion Williamson is a culture killer and organization killer,” claimed KP, who was hot with his take.
“Zion has completely f***ed this organization since they drafted him. Real talk. You can’t depend on him. You don’t know what’s going on. There’s so much you have to do, you have to clean up certain areas,” he added.
And this isn’t just a retired veteran slamming a modern-day player for kicks. Perkins supported Zion all offseason and hoped that it was finally the year that he would emerge as a superstar in the league. But whether it was bad luck or bad self-care, Zion is out once again.
Furthermore, Williamson puts the Pelicans into a tricky financial situation, one that blows Kendrick’s mind. “The most hyped athlete since LeBron James, and he is on a non-guaranteed max contract. We have never heard of anything like that in life,” he joked.
KP then pitched that the organization should move on. “So he’s not available. What are you going to do with him? They can waive him, they can trade him. What is his trade market? I think they should move on from Zion,” Perkins suggested.
“All of a sudden, he hurt his hamstring again. By the way, I don’t think I’ve ever seen anybody in sports hurt their hamstring more than Zion Williamson,” he added.
Perkins can be mean and downright wrong with his takes at times. But it’s hard to disagree with him here. And it’s hard to blame people for feeling fed up.
Zion’s talent is unreal, but the constant injuries and uncertainty have pushed the Pelicans into a corner they never expected to be in. At some point, the franchise has to decide whether they’re still waiting on potential or moving forward without it. And if Zion doesn’t find a way to stay on the floor, even his biggest defenders might finally throw in the towel.
