Pelicans news: Zion Williamson suspended for one game and Herb Jones injury

Bad news continues to roll in for the New Orleans Pelicans in their season from hell.

New Orleans Pelicans v Portland Trail Blazers
New Orleans Pelicans v Portland Trail Blazers | Amanda Loman/GettyImages

The 2024-25 NBA season has not been kind to the New Orleans Pelicans. They may have come into the year with high hopes after trading for All-Star point guard Dejounte Murray at the top of the offseason, but their playoff aspirations were quickly dashed due to a litany of injuries at the beginning of the season.

Practically the entire core of the roster missed significant time in the first quarter of the campaign and just a few weeks into the season, the Pelicans' pursuit of a title was already doomed. Now, they're staring down the barrel of a franchise restart, one that has the potential to get ugly. Brandon Ingram has had notable contract disputes with the team and has struggled to generate trade interest from other teams. Zion Williamson can't stay healthy and the Pelicans have no choice but to consider moving him this season. New Orleans just cashed in assets in order to trade for Murray and are now looking at a rebuild.

At least the Pelicans have a real sense of direction now, right? Of course, this is all just conjecture at this point and they'll have to actually move off of one of their veteran players before we're able to definitively say that they've picked a real direction. While we're waiting for the first domino to fall ahead of the NBA trade deadline, the bad news just continues to roll in for the Pelicans. This time, it revolves around a suspension for Zion Williamson and another injury to Herb Jones.

Pelicans suspend Zion while Herb Jones hits the injury report once again

Zion Williamson's suspension

The New Orleans Pelicans doled out a one-game suspension for Zion Williamson after he was late for the team's flight to Philadelphia ahead of their clash against the 76ers. The official ruling was a conviction for "conduct detrimental to the team." Vice President David Griffin had this to say about it:

“This one-game suspension is a result of failing to meet our team standards. His dedication to this organization is of paramount significance to us and to him. He has taken accountability for his actions and reaffirmed that commitment to the team today. I’m confident he will continue to evolve positively on and off the floor.”

Head Coach Willie Green later gave his own thoughts on Zion's absence and stated that it wasn't a singular event that led to Z's suspension but a pattern of distasteful behavior. This news is particularly interesting due to its proximity to the season's trade deadline, as the team has reportedly been shopping Zion to other teams. This latest saga certainly won't help his trade stock, which is rumored to already be at an all-time low.

Herb Jones's injury

The injury bug continues to make its way through the Pelicans' roster, now making its second round with some of the players. After already losing 18 games to a right shoulder strain earlier in the season, Herb Jones was recently diagnosed with a posterior labrum tear in the same shoulder. The news broke just hours before New Orleans took on Philadelphia on Friday night, January 10.

Jones has only been listed as "out indefinitely," but the Pelicans shouldn't expect to get him back anytime soon. The average recovery time after surgery for this injury is typically around five months.

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