Zion Williamson

PF, New Orleans Pelicans

Zion Williamson was named to the 2019-20 NBA All-Rookie First Team on Tuesday, joining Ja Morant, Kendrick Nunn, Brandon Clarke and Eric Paschall.

Williamson capped off a disjointed rookie season, receiving 87 of a possible 100 votes to take his place in the All-Rookie First Team. Along with Morant, Nunn and Clarke, Williamson was really a no-brainer when it came to selecting the team. Paschall narrowly beat out Tyler Herro for the fifth spot on the team, an honor he certainly earned with his impressive play on an underwhelming Warriors team.

Source: Shams Charania on Twitter

Ja Morant

PG, Memphis Grizzlies

Ja Morant has been awarded the NBA Rookie of the Year award for 2019-20.

Morant was taken with the second overall selection by the Memphis Grizzlies in the 2019 NBA Draft and put together an impressive rookie season. He ended the season as a sixth-round talent in 8-category leagues with averages of 18.1 points, 3.9 rebounds, 7.3 assists and 0.9 steals on 48 percent shooting from the field. Morant has the Grizzlies primed to be a competitive force for many seasons and was certainly a worthy winner of the award. He beat out Kendrick Nunn and Zion Williamson, who finished second and third respectively.

Source: Shams Charania on Twitter

Zion Williamson

PF, New Orleans Pelicans

The NBA is progressing on plans for a virtual draft combine to be held at regional sites throughout September, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

In what’s likely to become one of the most wide-open draft processes in years, prospective players would attend selected regional team facilities throughout the country. The plan would include team doctors administering physicals at local hospitals and league officials recording body measurables and putting players through physical testing at team facilities. The NBA still hasn’t made a final determination on the location or format for the October 16 draft event after canceling the original pre-draft combine in Chicago that was scheduled for May. It is unlikely that many, if any, top 2020 draft prospects would agree to the workout sessions that would be shared virtually with the league’s teams from the combine sites, but there will be an opportunity for players who want to be evaluated in a limited combine workout environment to do so for NBA teams. The NBA is conducting its draft lottery to determine the selection order from 1 to 14 on Thursday night from Secaucus, New Jersey.

Source: ESPN

Zion Williamson

PF, New Orleans Pelicans

Multiple reports have named Ty Lue and Jason Kidd as top candidates for the Pelicans' vacant head coaching job.

Both Marc Stein and Adrian Wojnarowski named Lue and Kidd first, with Woj also dropping Kenny Atkinson and Jacque Vaughn (should the Nets go a different direction) as possibilities. Of course, Stein added that Lue and Kidd are potential fits in the Brooklyn search. Whoever becomes the next head coach of the Pelicans will be tasked with getting the most out of a talented roster and returning the team to the postseason.

Source: ESPN

Zion Williamson

PF, New Orleans Pelicans

Adrian Wojnarowski and Andrew Lopez are reporting that Alvin Gentry has been dismissed by the Pelicans.

Gentry's job was very much in limbo, though the growth that the Pelicans showed over the course of the season was originally looking like enough to save his job. Of course, the Pels also started the year 6-22 and looked extremely lethargic in the bubble. That can't all fall at Gentry's feet but the lack of intensity, especially defensively, doesn't help his case. A free-flowing philosophy didn't match with a roster that needed discipline, with many of the players participating in the first meaningful games of their careers. The Pels have some very talented players and should be one of the top jobs on the coaching market.

Source: Adrian Wojnarowski on Twitter

Jrue Holiday

PG, New Orleans Pelicans

Jrue Holiday (right elbow contusion), Brandon Ingram (right knee soreness) and Zion Williamson (right knee soreness) have all been ruled out of the team's last game of 2019-20 against the Magic.

The Pelicans were eliminated from contention a few games ago so it is no surprise to see them rest their main studs to avoid any silly injuries. Thursday will have a lot of strange box scores due to the number of players who will be rested for various ailments.

Source: Pelicans PR on Twitter

Zion Williamson

PF, New Orleans Pelicans

Zion Williamson (right knee soreness) will not play in the Pelicans' matchup vs. the Kings on Tuesday.

The Pelicans have officially been eliminated from playoff contention and so there's no reason for the Pelicans to keep Williamson playing in meaningless games. He's dealt with injuries for the majority of his rookie season and hasn't been able to stay on the court. Hopefully he'll be able to get healthy this offseason and bounce back for an incredible sophomore season.

Source: NBA Injury Report

Zion Williamson

PF, New Orleans Pelicans

Zion Williamson looked explosive on Sunday, going 10-for-20 from the field en route to 25 points and seven rebounds in 27 minutes against the Spurs.

While Williamson looked dangerous, the Pelicans also got outscored by 21 with him on the floor as their season came to an end today. The emptiness of his line also underscores some stat set issues, as Zion didn't have any steals, blocks, 3-pointers or assists. He did manage to go 5-of-6 from the line after shooting .634 there on the full season, but Williamson will definitely be overdrafted next season if he can't round out his game a bit more.

Zion Williamson

PF, New Orleans Pelicans

Zion Williamson (rest) will be back in the starting lineup vs. the Spurs on Sunday.

The Pels are still load managing their young phenom but he'll be back after taking the night off on Friday vs. the Wizards. He'll still have some sort of minutes restriction but if the Pelicans want to make the playoffs they've got to start winning games now and Williamson gives them the best chance at doing so.

Source: Will Guillory on Twitter

Ja Morant

PG, Memphis Grizzlies

Ja Morant, Zion Williamson and Kendrick Nunn are the finalists for the 2019-20 Rookie of the Year award.

It's Morant's to lose, as Zion would've had a shot had he been able to play in more games. Nunn impressed for the Heat, earning a starting role out of training camp, but Morant's explosive play vaulted the Grizzlies from the league's cellar to a playoff position when the league was suspended due to the pandemic.

Source: NBA on Twitter

Zion Williamson

PF, New Orleans Pelicans

Zion Williamson (rest) will not play against the Wizards on Friday.

Williamson is being treated with kid gloves by the Pelicans front office which is why we won't be watching the phenom play in the second half of the team's back-to-back. Kenrich Williams and Josh Hart are the likely candidates to see more playing time while Brandon Ingram could see an uptick in usage. Zion should be ready for the team's next game against the Spurs on Sunday.

Source: Andrew Lopez on Twitter

Zion Williamson

PF, New Orleans Pelicans

Zion Williamson was limited to 21 minutes in Thursday's loss to the Kings, posting 24 points on 10-of-12 shooting with two rebounds and two assists.

Williamson didn't do much on the stat sheet besides scoring the ball and he ended up missing three out of his seven attempts from the charity stripe. His free throw percentage continue to be an Achilles heel for Zion and must be considered heading into drafts next year. However, Zion looks like he needs to be drafted in the first few rounds going into the 2020-21 season and should continue to be used across all resumption leagues, especially as sees more playing time.

Zion Williamson

PF, New Orleans Pelicans

Zion Williamson received 25 minutes on Monday, scoring 23 points in a 109-99 win over the Grizzlies.

That may not seem like a lot of court time, but he didn't crack 15 in either of his previous two contests. Zion finished with seven rebounds and five assists while shooting 9-for-21 from the field. He'll be far more useful in daily leagues if Alvin Gentry can push him toward 30 minutes per game.

Zion Williamson

PF, New Orleans Pelicans

Zion Williamson played 14 minutes in a 126-103 loss to the Clippers, scoring seven points with five rebounds and three turnovers.

Zion has now played under 15 minutes in each of the first two games since the restart. Even worse, the Pelicans have now dropped to four games behind the eighth-seeded Grizzlies and are behind the Blazers, Spurs and Kings in the standings. Although Zion would help the Pelicans on the court, the medical staff has final say on how many minutes he can play and won't be pressured by the playoff race. He is too risky to trust in DFS until his minutes increase.

Zion Williamson

PF, New Orleans Pelicans

Due to a late arrival to the Orlando bubble, Zion Williamson (re-conditioning) will continue to have his minutes limited as the team faces off against the Clippers on Saturday.

Zion looked good in the 15 minutes that he saw on Thursday and we should expect to see his playing time slowly ramp up for these eight games. However, David Griffin made it very clear to the media that Zion will continue to have a minutes restriction until the team's staff believes that he is ready for his full complement of playing time. Zion is someone to stay away from in DFS lineups on Saturday due to this news.

Source: New Orleans Pelicans on Twitter