March 2021 New Orleans Pelicans Wiretap

Zion Williamson 'Progressing' In Foot Surgery Rehab

Oct 26, 2021 9:13 PM

Zion Williamson remains scheduled to have a new round of scans on his right foot either later this week or next week as he continues his rehabilitation. 

“You can see he is progressing and doing more and more on the floor,” Green said, motioning to where Williamson was doing light physical activity. “Once he has his latest round of scans, then we’ll have a clearer picture of where we go from here. But he’s getting better, he’s progressing, he’s on the floor now, running, doing a lot more. We’ll have an update soon.”

Asked if Williamson is able to run in drills, Green responded, “He can, but he’s just not full throttle in anything he’s doing in drills yet. (After his scans) hopefully we’ll be able to ramp him up even more after that.”

Williamson underwent offseason surgery on his foot at an undisclosed time.

NBA.com

Tags: Zion Williamson, New Orleans Pelicans, NBA, NBA Injury

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Pelicans May Have Been Unaware Of Zion Williamson's Surgery Until He Reported To Camp

Oct 20, 2021 5:03 PM

The offseason foot surgery Zion Williamson underwent was only revealed to the public on media day and it is possible that the New Orleans Pelicans were also unaware of it.

"There's a strong belief in league circles that the Pelicans were unaware of that procedure until Williamson reported to New Orleans ahead of media day," writes Jake Fischer.

Fischer, however, adds that the Pelicans and Williamson were aligned on the injury's timeline.

Williamson is expected to play under a minutes restriction when he returns. Sources say Williamson has weighed more than 300 pounds at points this offseason.

"I know Zion at 280, and he was not 280," said one observer. 

"These are the injuries you have to be the most concerned about, a foot injury for a guy with noted weight issues," said one Western Conference executive. 

Jake Fischer/Bleacher Report

Tags: New Orleans Pelicans, NBA, NBA Misc Rumor

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Jonas Valanciunas, Pelicans Agree To Two-Year, $33.1M Extension

Oct 20, 2021 4:33 PM

Jonas Valanciunas have agreed to a two-year, $30.1 million extension.

Valanciunas is now committed to the Pelicans for $44.1 million over the next three seasons.

The Pelicans acquired Valanciunas this past offseason from the Memphis Grizzlies. 

Andrew Lopez/ESPN

Tags: Jonas Valanciunas, New Orleans Pelicans, NBA, NBA Signing Rumor, NBA Misc Rumor

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Pelicans Waive John Petty Jr.

Oct 15, 2021 2:14 PM

The New Orleans Pelicans have waived guard John Petty Jr.

Petty Jr., 6-5, 184, most recently played four seasons at Alabama in which he averaged 11.7 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 2.0 assists in 131 games (105 starts), finishing his career with a school-record 311 made three-pointers. Petty Jr. is coming off of a senior campaign where he averaged 12.6 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 1.9 assists en route to First Team All-SEC honors. Petty Jr. led the SEC with 77 made threes during the 2020-21 season.

The Pelicans roster now stands at 17.

RealGM Staff Report

Tags: John Petty, Jr., New Orleans Pelicans, NBA, NBA Signing Rumor, NBA Misc Rumor, NBA Waiver

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Zion Williamson Out At Least Two More Weeks

Oct 14, 2021 3:39 PM

David Griffin will be reevaluated in two weeks for his broken foot and there is no timetable for his return.

Williamson will not play in at least the first week of games as he continues to heal. 

Williamson's offseason surgery was revealed at the start of training camp.

RealGM Staff Report

Tags: Zion Williamson, New Orleans Pelicans, NBA, NBA Injury

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Pelicans Sign John Petty Jr.

Oct 13, 2021 9:13 PM

The New Orleans Pelicans have signed guard John Petty Jr. 

Petty Jr., 6-5, 184, played four seasons at Alabama in which he averaged 11.7 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 2.0 assists in 131 games (105 starts), finishing his career with a school-record 311 made three-pointers. Petty Jr. is coming off of a senior campaign where he averaged 12.6 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 1.9 assists en route to First Team All-SEC honors. Petty Jr. led the SEC with 77 made threes during the 2020-21 season.

RealGM Staff Report

Tags: John Petty, Jr., New Orleans Pelicans, NBA, NBA Signing Rumor, NBA Misc Rumor

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Pelicans Exercise 22-23 Options On Zion Williamson, Alexander-Walker, Jaxson Hayes, Kira Lewis

Oct 13, 2021 9:10 PM

The New Orleans Pelicans have exercised fourth-year options on guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker, center Jaxson Hayes, and forward Zion Williamson, and a third-year option on guard Kira Lewis Jr.

Alexander-Walker has appeared in 93 games (14 starts) in two seasons with the Pelicans, averaging 8.3 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 2.1 assists in 17.2 minutes per contest. In 2020-21, he raised his rookie averages in points (+5.3), rebounds (+1.3), and assists (+0.3).

Hayes has appeared in 124 contests (17 starts) in his first two professional seasons, averaging 7.4 points and 4.2 rebounds in 16.5 minutes per game while shooting .647 from the field.

Williamson has posted averages of 25.7 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 3.2 assists, while shooting .604 from the floor, .333 from three-point range and .683 from the free throw line in 85 career appearances (all starts) with New Orleans. The 2021 All-Star selection is coming off of a sophomore season in which he averaged 27.0 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 3.7 assists in 33.2 minutes per game while shooting .611 from the floor. Williamson became the first player in NBA history to average at least 27 points on .600 shooting for an entire season.

Selected 13th overall in the 2020 NBA Draft, Lewis Jr. appeared in 54 games off the bench in his rookie campaign, averaging 6.4 points, 2.3 assists and 1.3 rebounds in 16.7 minutes per contest while shooting.386 from the floor, .333 from three-point range and .843 from the line.

RealGM Staff Report

Tags: New Orleans Pelicans, NBA, NBA Signing Rumor, NBA Misc Rumor

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Pelicans Waive James Banks, Wenyen Gabriel, Malcolm Hill

Oct 13, 2021 8:43 AM

The New Orleans Pelicans have waived three players, as they begin the process of finalizing their regular season roster. New Orleans waived James Banks, Wenyen Gabriel and Malcolm Hill.

Gabriel is the most accomplished of the three at the NBA level. Gabriel has played for the Pelicans, Sacramento Kings and Portland Trail Blazers. He was signed to a two-year contract in 2020. Gabriel's salary for 2021-22 was fully non-guaranteed.

Banks and Hill were added earlier in the week, after New Orleans waived Zylan Cheatham and Jared Harper. Banks and Hill were added in hopes of gaining Affiliate Player rights for the G League.

All four players of Banks, Cheatham, Harper and Hill are expected to play with the Birmingham Squadron of the G League. 2021-22 is the first year New Orleans will have the Squadron as their singly-affiliated G League club.

RealGM Staff Report

Tags: James Banks, Wenyen Gabriel, Malcolm Hill, New Orleans Pelicans, NBA, NBA Waiver

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Pelicans Waive Zylan Cheatham, Jared Harper; Sign James Banks, Malcolm Hill

Oct 9, 2021 5:34 PM

The New Orleans Pelicans announced they have waived Zylan Cheatham and Jared Harper. New Orleans also announced they signed James Banks and Malcolm Hill.

Cheatham signed in late-September for a second go-around with the Pelicans. He previously played for the team during the 2019-20 season. Cheatham did not appear in any preseason games for New Orleans.

Harper was also signed in late-September. He spent the previous two seasons with the Phoenix Suns and New York Knicks on Two-Way contracts. Harper did not appear in any preseason games for the Pelicans.

Banks went undrafted out of Georgia Tech at the 2020 NBA Draft. He then played Israel during the 2020-21 season. The 6-foot-10 center played for the Cleveland Cavaliers at 2021 Las Vegas Summer League.

Hill has played professionally in the Philippines, Germany, Russia and Israel over the last five years. The 6-foot-6 wing played for the Pelicans at 2021 Las Vegas Summer League.

All four players are likely to land with New Orleans G League team, the Birmingham Squadron, as Affiliate players following the preseason.

RealGM Staff Report

Tags: Zylan Cheatham, Jared Harper, James Banks, Malcolm Hill, New Orleans Pelicans, NBA, NBA Official Signing, NBA Waiver

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Zion Williamson Emphasizes Love For New Orleans

Oct 2, 2021 5:23 PM

In an interview with SiriusXM's NBA Radio, Zion Williamson emphasized his love for New Orleans. After his original statement at Media Day of his commitment to New Orleans was overshadowed by news of his offseason foot surgery, Williamson doubled down.

Williamson said, "I love it here. Anybody that knows me...they know that I love New Orleans. This is the city for me."

Following that, Williamson took to Instagram and shared the post from SiriusXM. Williamson's public commitment to the Pelicans comes after months of speculation that the former first overall pick is unhappy playing in New Orleans.

RealGM Staff Report

Tags: Zion Williamson, New Orleans Pelicans, NBA, NBA Misc Rumor

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Gayle Benson Won't Sell Pelicans Until After Her Death

Jeff Duncan, Lee Zurik/Times Picayune