New Orleans Pelicans rookie forward Zion Williamson is entering the offseason with his mind set on improving his body and his overall game.
“I’ll talk to my coaches and see what I need to do better from their point of view,” Williamson said, according to ESPN’s Andrew Lopez. “Talk to my player development coaches as well, see what I need to do better from their point of view. Just work on every part of my game and work on getting my body where it needs to be.”
Williamson didn’t reveal much when discussing where he wants his body to be.
“That’s a conversation I’ll have with my team” Williamson said. “We’ll sit down, see what they need me to do better, then I can give you a better answer to that.”
Williamson weighing in at 285 pounds has been a topic of conversation ever since his college playing days at Duke, where he spent one season, and became a topic again, along with his conditioning, as the NBA tipped off play in the bubble.
“Everyone is entitled to their own opinion,” Williamson said. “But I’m going to stick to the opinions of the people closest to me and my team and just go from there.”
“There were a few rough patches where I was trying to get a rhythm,” Williamson said. “That’s part of the game and part of coming back from injury. But you know, I feel like the coaches and training staff handled it very well. Just to be able to play one minute in an NBA game, I’m grateful for that.”
Williamson also feels that the Pels can take some major steps in chemistry, which will only add to the promising bright future that seems to be ahead of the team.
“I think we still might have some bumps and bruises, but I feel like the chemistry is going to be a lot better,” Williamson said. “If we keep building that and have fun with it, I think we’ll be fine. … I think our future is bright. But we have to put the work in for that. That’s all I can say about that.”
Williamson averaged 22.5 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.1 assists over 24 games for the Pelicans this season.
