Zion Williamson eager to play but says he trusts Pelicans’ recovery plan

DENVER — If it were up to Zion Williamson, he already would have made his debut for the New Orleans Pelicans.

That’s what the No. 1 pick in the 2019 NBA draft told ESPN’s Jorge Sedano prior to the Pelicans’ Christmas night game against the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday.

Williamson told Sedano that he “trusts the organization” in its decision-making and said that his rehab process has been about more than just the recovery from surgery to repair the torn meniscus in his right knee.

The 19-year-old also said the Pelicans are trying to teach him how to walk and run differently — working on the kinetic chain of his body.

In the past week, Williamson has slowly started working his way back. He has done individual shooting drills and group drills but hasn’t gone 5-on-5 or even 3-on-3 just yet, only 5-on-0 drills.

After the Pelicans have finished a shootaround or practice in the past week, Williamson has stayed back with a group of coaches and staffers and worked for anywhere from an hour to 90 minutes walking through plays and running up and down the court.

New Orleans executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin has said that Williamson has to pass preseason conditioning tests before he’s cleared to make his debut. The conditioning tests are similar to the way an NFL player takes a preseason test in case of a concussion.

A source within the organization told ESPN that before Williamson makes his on-court return, the team would like him to undergo at least two or three practices doing full work. A source told Sedano the team is targeting just after the new year for those practices.

Williamson averaged 23.3 points and 6.5 rebounds on 71.4% shooting for the Pelicans in four preseason games. He missed the final game because of knee soreness and underwent surgery Oct. 21, the day before the regular season started.