New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson (foot) is likely to be shut down from basketball activities. He continues to experience soreness in his surgically-repaired right foot. That being said, the Pelicans don't want to take any chances with their superstar forward. The way things are going, it seems unlikely that Williamson will play this season. Josh Hart will continue getting additional minutes and be someone worth rostering in most formats. Herbert Jones is also someone worth monitoring due to his upside on the defensive end.

New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson (foot) has been cleared to resume full basketball activities. The sophomore hasn't played this year as he worked his way back from offseason foot surgery. His weight has also been an issue, so rehab has gone somewhat slower than initially anticipated. Nonetheless, the latest update suggests Williamson could be playing sooner rather than later, and as long as he remains healthy, he has an elite upside that not many possess.

New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson (foot) has been cleared for contact work and will begin going through 1-on-1 workouts. This is a big step in his rehab process and it sounds like he'll be re-evaluated again in about a week. The Pelicans are expected to ease their superstar forward back into things. Williamson is trending in the right direction, but it still sounds like he could be a few weeks away from returning. His return will likely negatively impact Jonas Valanciunas. Although, fantasy managers won't have to worry about that for a bit.

New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson (foot) is out on Monday evening against Minnesota, as expected. Williamson had surgery to repair a fracture in the fifth metatarsal of his right foot during the offseason. However, despite recently being spotted doing one-on-one work at practice, he is still in danger of not being ready for the regular-season opener against the Philadelphia 76ers on October 20. Center Jonas Valanciunas (thumb) is a game-time decision against the Timberwolves, but it's more likely that he won't suit up either. As a result, Naji Marshall and Jaxson Hayes should handle things up front.

New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson (foot) was seen doing 1-on-1 work during Tuesday's practice. The organization revealed on Monday that Williamson underwent surgery to repair a fracture in the fifth metatarsal of his right foot. The Pelicans are hopeful that Williamson will be ready for the beginning of the season. It sounds like Williamson is near the end of his rehab process. There is always a high chance of re-injury, but the upside of Williamson is too high to ignore.

METAIRIE, La. (AP) — New Pelicans coach Willie Green sees New Orleans as a team on the cusp of contending — a conclusion he explains by referencing his past two years with the Phoenix Suns. “This situation actually reminds me a lot of Phoenix,” Green said during his formal introduction on Tuesday, highlighting “really high-talented players” such as 2021 All-Star Zion Williamson and 2020 All-Star Brandon Ingram. The Pelicans are “really close to taking the next step,” Green said. “Going into next season, that’s our goal. That’s our mindset and that makes it a sleeping giant.” In Green’s first season with Phoenix as an assistant to Monty Williams, the Suns narrowly missed the 2020 playoffs. This season, they advanced to the NBA finals and won the first two games of that series before Milwaukee stormed back to take the title. A former NBA player who turns 40 on Wednesday, Green was hired last week to his first head coaching job. He emerged as a top candidate several weeks ago while helping... [More]

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The Memphis Grizzlies have agreed to trade center Jonas Valanciunas to the New Orleans Pelicans in exchange for center Steven Adams, guard Eric Bledsoe and a swap of multiple draft choices, a person familiar with the situation said. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity on Monday because no trade can become official until Aug. 6. The trade, first reported by ESPN, sends New Orleans' 10th and 40th overall draft choices to Memphis for the Grizzlies' 17th and 51st overall picks this year. Memphis also will receive a protected 2022 first-round choice from New Orleans. The deal comes on the heels of New Orleans' decision to hire Willie Green, their third head coach in three seasons, as the franchise faces mounting pressure to inspire confidence in star forward Zion Williamson after missing the playoffs his first two NBA campaigns. Valanciunas has played nine seasons in the NBA, averaging 12.9 and 9.2 points per game. The 29-year-old center from... [More]

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The Memphis Grizzlies have agreed to trade center Jonas Valanciunas to the New Orleans Pelicans in exchange for center Steven Adams, guard Eric Bledsoe and an exchange of first-round choices in this week's draft, a person familiar with the situation said. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity on Monday because no trade can become official until Aug. 6. The trade, first reported by ESPN, sends New Orleans' 10th and 40th overall draft choices to Memphis for the Grizzlies' 17th and 51st overall picks this year. Memphis also will receive a protected 2022 first-round choice from New Orleans. The deal comes on the heels of New Orleans' decision to hired new coach Willie Green and as the franchise faces mounting pressure to inspire confidence in star forward Zion Williamson after missing the playoffs with two different coaches in each of his first two NBA seasons. Valanciunas has played nine seasons in the NBA, averaging 12.9 and 9.2 points per game.... [More]

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The New Orleans Pelicans have hired Phoenix Suns assistant Willie Green as their new head coach. Green, a former NBA player who turns 40 on July 28, is a first-time head coach after serving as an NBA assistant coach the past five years — first with Golden State and then with Phoenix, which lost to Milwaukee in the NBA Finals on Tuesday. He arrives in New Orleans at a time when pressure is rising to give young star Zion Williamson faith that he can find long-term satisfaction with the club that drafted him first overall two years ago. “Willie has established himself as one of the most respected assistant coaches in the NBA. In large part, this is due to a tireless work ethic and authenticity of character,” David Griffin, executive vice president of basketball operations, said Thursday. “He brings a vast amount of basketball knowledge and experience to our team as both a coach and former player, along with exceptional leadership qualities and an innate ability to connect... [More]

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The New Orleans Pelicans have hired Phoenix Suns assistant Willie Green as their new head coach. Green, a former NBA player who turns 40 on July 28, is a first-time head coach after serving as an NBA assistant coach the past five years — first with Golden State and then with Phoenix, which lost to Milwaukee in the NBA Finals on Tuesday. He arrives in New Orleans at a time when pressure is rising to give young star Zion Williamson faith that he can find long-term satisfaction with the club that drafted him first overall two years ago. “Willie has established himself as one of the most respected assistant coaches in the NBA. In large part, this is due to a tireless work ethic and authenticity of character,” David Griffin, executive vice president of basketball operations, said Thursday. “He brings a vast amount of basketball knowledge and experience to our team as both a coach and former player, along with exceptional leadership qualities and an innate ability to connect... [More]

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The New Orleans Pelicans are negotiating with Suns assistant Willie Green about taking over as head coach, but no deal is in place and discussions could extend beyond the NBA Finals, a person familiar with the situation said. “He has not agreed to a deal,” the person said to The Associated Press Wednesday on condition of anonymity because talks were ongoing. “We are working through it and may wait until the Finals conclude.” Should Green ultimately take the job, he'll arrive in New Orleans at a time when pressure is rising to give young star Zion Williamson faith that he can find long-term satisfaction with the club that drafted him first overall two years ago. Green, a former NBA player who turns 40 on July 28, would become a first-time head coach after serving as an NBA assistant coach the past five years — first with Golden State and then with Phoenix, who were facing Milwaukee in Game 4 of the NBA finals on Wednesday night. Green was a member of two NBA title-winning... [More]

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — New Orleans Pelicans basketball operations chief David Griffin paused several seconds to compose himself while explaining why Stan Van Gundy is out as coach less than nine months after he was hired to develop a young roster featuring budding superstar Zion Williamson. “This was something that was very, very difficult,” Griffin said, adding that the need for a new coach "revealed itself over some very open, candid conversations with a really, really good man” during the past three weeks. While the Pelicans missed the postseason after finishing 10 games below .500, Griffin insisted his team's new coaching vacancy did not result from too few victories. “This was wrought in our philosophical difference in the way we're going to reach the next step in our development," Griffin said. “We don’t have time to waste." Hired last October, about two months before the start of a pandemic-delayed and shortened season, Van Gundy coached the Pelicans to a 31-41 record. New Orleans finished... [More]

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Stan Van Gundy is out as Pelicans coach following just one season at the helm. “This was a difficult decision as I have tremendous respect for Stan both personally and professionally," Pelicans basketball operations chief David Griffin said Wednesday. “But we agreed it is in the best interest of our team to move forward in a different direction.” The club described Van Gundy's departure as a mutual agreement “to part ways.” Hired last October, about two months before the start of a pandemic-delayed and shortened season, Van Gundy coached a Pelicans squad led by All-Star Zion Williamson to a 31-41 record. New Orleans finished in 11th place, two games out of the final Western Conference play-in spot. Now Griffin will be hiring his second coach in as many season after firing Alvin Gentry last summer. The next coach will be Williamson's third since he entered the NBA as the league's first overall draft choice in 2019. Griffin had articulated higher hopes for Van Gundy when... [More]

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Stan Van Gundy is out as Pelicans coach following just one season at the helm. “This was a difficult decision as I have tremendous respect for Stan both personally and professionally," Pelicans basketball operations chief David Griffin said Wednesday. “But we agreed it is in the best interest of our team to move forward in a different direction.” The club described Van Gundy's departure as a mutual agreement “to part ways.” Hired last October, about two months before the start of a pandemic-delayed and shortened season, Van Gundy coached a Pelicans squad led by All-Star Zion Williamson to a 31-41 record. New Orleans finished in 11th place, two games out of the final Western Conference play-in spot. Now Griffin will be hiring his second coach in as many season after firing Alvin Gentry last summer. The next coach will be Williamson's third since he entered the NBA as the league's first overall draft choice in 2019. Griffin had articulated higher hopes for Van Gundy when... [More]

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Stan Van Gundy is out as Pelicans coach following just one season at the helm, a person familiar with the situation said. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Wednesday because the move has not been publicly announced. Hired last October, about two months before the start of a pandemic-delayed and shortened season, Van Gundy coached a Pelicans squad led by All-Star Zion Williamson to a 31-41 record. New Orleans finished in 11th place, a few game out of the final Western Conference play-in spot. The move means Pelicans basketball operations chief David Griffin will be hiring his second coach in as many season after firing Alvin Gentry last summer. The next coach will be Williamson's third since he entered the NBA as the league's first overall draft choice in 2019. Griffin had articulated higher hopes for Van Gundy when he hired him, at age 61 to oversee a roster in which most players were younger than 25. “This is a proven winner and this... [More]

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Stan Van Gundy is out as Pelicans coach following just one season at the helm, a person familiar with the situation said. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Wednesday because the move has not been publicly announced. Hired last October, about two months before the start of a pandemic-delayed and shortened season, Van Gundy coached a Pelicans squad led by All-Star Zion Williamson to a 31-41 record. New Orleans finished in 11th place, a few game out of the final Western Conference play-in spot. The move means Pelicans basketball operations chief David Griffin will be hiring his second coach in as many season after firing Alvin Gentry last summer. The next coach will be Williamson's third since he entered the NBA as the league's first overall draft choice in 2019. ___ More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Zion Williamson takes little comfort in how close the New Orleans Pelicans came to qualifying for the postseason. If anything, the 20-year-old All-Star put the club on notice about the urgency with which he'd like New Orleans to approach this offseason. “Doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result is kind of insane, so I’m not going to going to sit here and say we’re close,” Williamson said. “The reality of it is it was very disappointing not to be a part of the play-in tournament and stuff. But we just got to come in and just be better. That’s just me being real.” Those comments ran somewhat counter to the narrative promulgated by Pelicans chief basketball executive David Griffin, who saw his team as one that looked far more competitive that its 31-41 record during coach Stan Van Gundy's first season with the club. The Pelicans blew 14 double-digit leads and had a rash of late-season injuries to key players, including Williamson, before winding... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — The NBA fined New Orleans Pelicans executive David Griffin $50,000 on Sunday for publicly criticizing officiating over how star Zion Williamson is handled and making comments the league considered detrimental. The decision came two days after Griffin, the Pelicans’ executive vice president of basketball operations, spoke out strongly about his concerns on the amount of contact NBA referees allow Williamson to endure. Williamson is currently out indefinitely with a broken left index finger, an injury that occurred on a play where he did not appear to be fouled. Griffin said the Pelicans have told league officials many times that they feared Williamson was being exposed to injury because of the way defenders are allowed to play against the 6-foot-7, 284-pound forward. “He’s injured now because of the open season there’s been on Zion Williamson in the paint,” Griffin said Friday. “He’s been absolutely mauled in the paint on a regular basis.” Williamson is averaging 27.0 points and 7.2 rebounds per game this season. The Pelicans began Sunday two games behind San Antonio for 10th place and the final play-in tournament berth in the Western Conference. ___ More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

NEW YORK (AP) — The NBA fined New Orleans Pelicans executive David Griffin $50,000 on Sunday for publicly criticizing officiating and making comments the league considered detrimental. The decision came two days after Griffin, the Pelicans’ executive vice president of basketball operations, spoke out strongly about his concerns over the amount of contact NBA referees allow New Orleans forward Zion Williamson to endure. Williamson is currently out indefinitely with a broken left index finger. Griffin said the Pelicans have told league officials many times that they feared Williamson was being exposed to injury because of the way defenders are allowed to play against the 6-foot-7, 284-pound standout. “He’s injured now because of the open season there’s been on Zion Williamson in the paint,” Griffin said Friday. “He’s been absolutely mauled in the paint on a regular basis.” Williamson is averaging 27.0 points and 7.2 rebounds per game this season. The Pelicans began Sunday two games behind San Antonio for 10th place and the final play-in tournament berth in the Western Conference. ___ More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

NEW YORK (AP) — The NBA fined David Griffin of the New Orleans Pelicans $50,000 on Sunday for publicly criticizing officiating and making comments the league considered detrimental. The decision came two days after Griffin, the Pelicans’ executive vice president of basketball operations, spoke out strongly about his concerns over the amount of contact NBA referees allow New Orleans forward Zion Williamson to endure. Williamson is currently out indefinitely with a broken left index finger. Griffin said the Pelicans have told league officials many times that they feared Williamson was being exposed to injury because of the way defenders are allowed to play against the 6-foot-7, 284-pound standout. “He’s injured now because of the open season there’s been on Zion Williamson in the paint,” Griffin said Friday. “He’s been absolutely mauled in the paint on a regular basis.” Williamson is averaging 27.0 points and 7.2 rebounds per game this season. The Pelicans began Sunday two games behind San Antonio for 10th place and the final play-in tournament berth in the Western Conference. ___ More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports