Pelicans reporter Christian Clark wrote an article about the rift in Zion's relationship with the Pelicans.
Before the draft, zion was blown up to go to the Knicks. So after the Pelicans selected him, he was not happy and his relationship with the team has always been relatively distant. This explains why he chose to find a rehabilitator himself and then take the team to Portland for treatment and rehabilitation, rather than following the team's advice.
The move sent a signal: The Zion team lacked enough confidence in Griffin's carefully selected medical team.
And this lack of confidence began in 19 years.
At that time, the Pelicans were very cautious about Zion's precious lump. So it takes him three months to recover from a knee injury in preseason, which usually recovers in 6-8 weeks. After Zion's return, he also encountered a "time limit".
Specific to people.
The Zion team felt that David Griffin, the Pelicans' head of basketball operations, was not sincere enough. The most notable example is that he once preached the concept of "family, love and responsibility" to the team staff, but when the Pelicans got off to a bad start to the season, he immediately blamed the then coach Gentry, even saying: "I gave Gentry answers to all the tests, but he still failed." These words caused a fierce conflict between the two.
But the replacement of Van Gundy did not make the team better, but also made the team's defensive efficiency continue to decline, and the rough personality of the big Van also made the players dissatisfied, Hart once said that he hated playing during that time.
In addition, Griffin is a bit arrogant, and he believes that the thick eyebrow trade he made has brought great rewards to the Pelicans.
But the reason for the discord is twofold, and Zion's performance has also upset the Pelicans.
In the rehab training of the rookie season, Zion was often late;
His unique size required him to strictly control his diet and train accordingly, but he has not been able to do so since he was selected 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.
In addition, 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.
Zion, who has very little news, today forwarded a photo of teammates Hernan Gomez and Hayes holding up themselves, with the caption: "Brothers for life." ”
But the hope of a comeback is still slim, and he can sign a 5-year, 181 million contract with the Pelicans in the offseason, give or not? Where will it all go? It was still a fog in front of it.