Mike Krzyzewski, aka Coach K has given his former Duke player Zion Williamson some advice on how to deal with injuries – something that Zion has struggled with his whole career.
The star has played in just ten of the Pels’ 44 games this season due to various niggling injuries and Coach K really wants him to prioritize conditioning.
“He has to come back from those but he also has to maintain a level of conditioning that won’t produce those injuries,” Coach K said, via Andy Katz. “With how high he jumps and the force that he does, it’s a different landing if you weigh 20 pounds more or 20 pounds less. He was terrific to coach and his parents allowed us to coach him. I love Zion and I’m sorry that he’s had all these injuries. You’re never completely the same if you have an injury during the season and then come back. At the end of the season, you have a whole offseason and you can get back to 100 percent. In-season injuries are very, very difficult but he’s had a number of them.”
NOLA are not in a great spot with a 12-32 record on the season and slipping to last place in the West.
They may well make some moves at the trade deadline and of course, it wouldn’t be trade deadline time without a few Zion rumors.
The Hornets would be a good landing spot for Zion, according to B/R’s Zach Buckley.
“Williamson wouldn’t face that same win-right-now pressure in Charlotte, but he might have a win-pretty-soon opportunity if he and LaMelo Ball stayed healthy,” Buckley wrote. “That viral-friendly pairing would be a nightly source of offensive fireworks, and swingman Brandon Miller could nestle in between them as an ideal tertiary option. Sprinkle the right amount of development around them—and perhaps a premier prospect plucked from the seemingly stacked 2025 draft—and this club might soon have the star power and depth needed to make waves in the Eastern Conference.”
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