A better-conditioned Zion Williamson is hoping to stay healthy this season. (Erik Drost)
With NBA preseason action kicking off next week, it’s time to get into some more Fantasy basketball content as we prepare for the 2025-26 season. This week, Utah rookie Ace Bailey ditched his manager after draft drama caused confusion about whether he’d report; Precious Achiuwa finally landed a deal, signing with the Heat; and Nancy Leonard, the Pacers’ assistant GM in the late ’70s, passed away at age 93.
Will Zion Finally Stay Healthy?
Two seasons ago, the New Orleans Pelicans looked like a team on the rise, winning 49 games to enjoy their finest campaign since 2008-09. They made the playoffs for the second time in three seasons, and while they still haven’t got past the first round since 2017-18, things were looking up.
And then last season the wheels fell off as the Pels plummeted all the way to 21 wins – the fourth worst record in the entire NBA and second worst in the West. Yuck. Yes, rampant injuries were an issue, but New Orleans finished 25th in scoring and was even worse defensively (26th). Steals and blocks were really the only two things this team did well.
The Pels made a head scratching trade to move up from No. 23 to 13 in the draft, giving up their 2026 first rounder in the process. They dealt away CJ McCollum, Cam Whitmore and Kelly Olynyk to Washington for Jordan Poole and Saddiq Bey. New Orleans also signed free agent forward Kevon Looney.
Joe Dumars’ first offseason as president of basketball operations has left something to be desired as it’s not clear one iota that this team has improved itself now or in the future.
The biggest question remains whether the Pels can truly build a team around Zion Williamson. The last time we discussed him (early last season), he was – surprise – hurting.
Williamson is in better shape now and says he feels good heading into 2025-26, which is great — even if some athletes suggest Ozempic is behind the weight loss. But we’re talking about a dude who played just 30 games last season thanks to hamstring and back issues and in his six-year career, he missed one season in its entirety, played a career high 70 games another time, and only once more has topped even 60 games played. In his other three campaigns, he played 30, 29 and 24 games.
You get it. The big guy is a big injury risk.
The good news is when he was actually active last season, Williamson looked good, getting to the line more often and doing better work on the offensive glass.
Bear in mind, he’s still just 25 and even if he may never live up to the promise of being the first overall pick in 2019, he can still be a big-time player, assuming he can stay on the court. Williamson has proven he can sink buckets, and while he’s never been a floor stretcher, he rebounds well for an undersized power forward and offers solid passing skills for a big. Oh, and he can do this (at least in the virtual world)…
When he came out of Duke, there weren’t many prospects with his level of athleticism. No, Williamson is not huge, so isn’t really a big-time post player and lacks a great jumper, but could overcome these flaws with his strength and quickness.
Let’s just hope all of his injuries haven’t sapped him of those traits.
For Fantasy purposes, Williamson has been going late in the fourth round, but if he’s truly improved his conditioning to the point he can play even close to a full schedule, he could be a steal at that slot.
RotoRob Tune of the Day
American soul/disco band Instant Funk was active from 1973 to 1985. In 1975, they released their first single “Float Like a Butterfly,” which failed to chart, but is a groovy salute to Muhammad Ali nonetheless.