On February 25, Beijing time, Pelicans reporter Christian Clark wrote an article reporting on the rift in Zion's relationship with the Pelicans, a key reason for Zion and his camp's lack of trust in the Pelicans' basketball operations director David Griffin.
Before the 2019 draft, there were rumors that Zion most wanted to join the Knicks, and since coming to the Pelicans, Zion's relationship with this team has been relatively distant. In January, the Pelicans announced that Zion would leave the team to continue his right-footed recovery, and Zion and members of his inner circle traveled to Portland, where sources revealed that pelican employees were not accompanied. Zion's move sends a clear signal that they lack enough confidence in Griffin's carefully selected medical team.
In fact, the friction between Zion and the Pelicans medical team was generated in the 2019 rookie season. At the time, the Pelicans were very cautious about Zion's knee injury, allowing him to recover from a preseason knee injury in three months, which usually recovers in 6-8 weeks. After Zion's return, he also encountered a "time limit".
Zion and his camp also thought Griffin was not sincere enough. He had preached the philosophy of "family, love and responsibility" to his team staff, however, he quickly blamed the Pelicans' poor start to the season on then-manager Gentry. At the time he even said, "I gave Gentry answers to all the tests, but he still failed." This remark caused a fierce quarrel between Gentry and Griffin.
Griffin gives the impression of being a bit arrogant and thinks he's very smart because he believes he's got a good return from the thick eyebrow trade. However, he also took a new hit, and after hiring Big Van Gundy as manager, the Pelicans' defensive efficiency continued to decline, and Big Van's rough personality was not well received by the players, and former Pelicans player Hart even said that he hated playing during that time. It wasn't until Willie Green became the new coach that things improved.
From the Pelicans' point of view, Zion's performance also made them unhappy. Christian Clark reported that Zion was often late in his rehab training in his rookie season, and his unique body type required him to strictly control his diet and train in related training, but he has not been able to do so since being drafted by the Pelicans. Zion weighed well over 300 pounds (136 kilograms) when he attended the boot camp in September, and ideally, he would weigh a good 265 pounds (120 kilograms), according to sources.
Since the Pelicans selected Zion, Zion's stepfather, Lee Anderson, has maintained a great deal of control over his career and has also served as his personal trainer. It also affected his relationship with the team.
Recently, the Pelicans' former teammate Redick complained about Zion's apathetic performance and lack of investment in the team. Not sure if it was in response to this comment, Zion today forwarded a photo of teammates Hernan Gomez and Hayes holding up their own, with the caption: "Brothers for life." As things stand, there is little hope of Zion coming back this season, and he is eligible to sign a five-year, $181 million cap this summer, but his future at the Pelicans is still full of unknowns.