The New Orleans Pelicans and Zion Williamson broke their silence around the ongoing rehab of his injured foot.
According to Andrew Lopez of ESPN, Zion will continue his rehab in Portland, Oregon, away from the team:
Story: Zion Williamson will continue his rehab away from the team. Per @wojespn, Zion is in Portland, Ore. to continue there. https://t.co/cA17OcvKBe
— Andrew Lopez (@_Andrew_Lopez) January 5, 2022
Of course, this set off the predictable flurry of hackneyed fat jokes, recycling the same tired memes like clockwork.
The comments below this tweet read like a not-so-bright 10-year-old’s standup comedy routine.
There were also plenty of conspiracy theories bandied about, things like “Zion is getting traded to Portland! (huh?), Zion will never play for the Pelicans again (he will) and even some suggesting that Zion Williamson is involved in some secret Nike project to develop a new shoe (I like that one).
The truth is that this announcement didn’t reveal anything new, or tell us anything about his progress.
This is what VP of basketball operations David Griffin had to say:
"“Since we notified everyone on December 16 of his latest imaging, it was decided then by our medical team to dial his rehab back to only partial weight bearing activities. He continues along that path.”"
I’ve been critical of how the Pelicans have handled the Zion Williamson injury news this season, but in this case, I am not exactly sure what people were expecting.
This Zion Williamson “news” is non-news
We knew that Zion Williamson was unlikely to be back in January, so I am not sure how this news really changes anything.
I also get why fans are frustrated and would like some more concrete information, but at this point, we should be accustomed to the vagaries.
The fact that he is rehabbing away from the team has no bearing on his future with the New Orleans Pelicans, and if that’s what it takes to get him 100 percent healthy, I am sure most fans are ok with it.
Zion hasn’t been on the bench much lately anyway, so I am not sure why we even needed to know this information other than that whoever is handling PR for Zion and the Pelicans doesn’t really understand how social media works, nor the predictable reactions from fans to this kind of “news.”
Personally, I wish Zion Williamson well in his rehab but am focused on the guys who are here, playing hard and trying to get wins for the Pelicans.
Until they have some actual news, I am not sure why we need these types of updates at all, as they aren’t helping anyone, including Zion.